Reliability of information - Information is said to be reliable if it can be verified and evaluated.
Others
refer to the trustworthiness of the source in evaluating the reliability of information.
Accuracy of information - Accuracy refers to the closeness of the report to the actual data.
Measurement of accuracy varies, depending on the type of information being evaluated. Forecasts are
said to be accurate if the report is similar to the actual data. Financial information is considered accurate
if the values are correct, properly classified, and presented
Value of information - Information is said to be of value if it aids the user in making or improving
decisions.
Authority of the source - Much of the information we gather daily do not come from a primary source
but are passed on through secondary sources such as writers, reporters, and the like. Sources with an
established expertise on the subject matter are considered as having sound authority on the subject.
Timeliness - Reliability, accuracy, and value of information may vary based on the time it was produced
or acquired. While a piece of information may have been found accurate, reliable, and valuable during
the time it was produced, it may become irrelevant and inaccurate with the passing of time (thus
making it less valuable). Other information may be timeless, proven to be the same in reliability,
accuracy, and value throughout history.
A. There are four major types of libraries:
1. Academic libraries serve colleges and universities.
2. Public libraries serve cities and towns of all types.
3. School libraries serve students from Kindergarten to grade 12.
4. Special libraries are in specialized environments, such as hospitals, corporations, museums, the
military, private business, and the government.
B. Skills in accessing information from libraries - Due to the wealth of information in a library, it is
important to know the following:
• The access tool to use
• How the information being accessed may be classified
• The depth of details required--some libraries provide only an abstract of the topic
• More detailed information might require membership or some conformity to set rules of the
source (ex databases)
C. Characteristics of libraries in terms of reliability, accuracy and value –
Libraries of published books are often considered highly reliable, accurate, and valuable. Books
and documents from dominant sources are often peer reviewed. ISSN or ISBN registration
ensures that standards were followed in producing these materials.
The shift from traditional libraries to the digital is not merely a technological
evolution, but requires a change in the paradigm by which people access and interact
with information.
A traditional library is characterized by the following:
emphasis on storage and preservation of physical items, particularly books and
periodicals
cataloging at a high level rather than one of detail, e.g., author and subject
indexes as opposed to full text
browsing based on physical proximity of related materials, e.g., books on
sociology are near one another on the shelves
passivity; information is physically assembled in one place; users must travel to
the library to learn what is there and make use of it
By contrast, a digital library differs from the above in the followingways:
emphasis on access to digitized materials wherever they may be located,with
digitization eliminating the need to own or store a physical item
cataloging down to individual words or glyphs
browsing based on hyperlinks, keyword, or any defined measure of relatedness;
materials on the same subject do not need to be near one another in any
physical sense
broadcast technology; users need not visit a digital library except electronically;
for them the library exists at any place they can access it,e.g., home, school,
office, or in a car
