Encyclopedic Dictionary of Library and Information Science

Encyclopedic Dictionary of Library and Information Science

Colombo:Kumaran,2010

This Encyclopedic Dictionary, in the fast growing area of Library and Information Science, is a pioneering work that helps the Tamil knowing students.  This fact is kept in mind while compiling this dictionary,  since most of the public and educational libraries are not able to free themselves from the traditional methods and  the knowledge of these traditional methods, some of them obsolete, is necessary to understand the present activities of these institutions.  The inclusion of old terms in abundance is justified for their institutional value. All Information media from archaic cave painting to the latest internet are covered in selecting the vocabulary. Besides, having in mind the necessity of approaching worldwide knowledge and arranging information resources on a sound theoretical basis, the author has included a considerable amount of the vocabulary needed for information processing. Not only the terms connected with Library and Information Sciences but also those necessary for their connected subjects like Publishing, Printing, Binding, Media Science, Information Technology are also included. This may look out of place at first sight but an essential embellishment- a special feature of this compilation.

In the field of lexicography, individual efforts are very rare. It is the worldwide practice for a group of authors to put their maximum joint effort to produce commendable dictionaries. But Dictionaries or encyclopedias are produced in considerable numbers by individual effort. As an easy source of reference, a dictionary should be as handy as possible. It should be easily used by the average reader. This concept is well kept in mind by the author.

Such publications shall be of great use in the future for language teaching and education through mother tongue. Japan is the best example of a country that educates its citizens in their mother tongue and makes enormous strides on the road to development. Her contribution may be a grain. But the impetus came from her observation as she puts in her forword, “Our Tamil society, realizing the importance of education through mother tongue, has taken in hand all educational activities in Tamil. Those students who enter the new field of Library and Information Science and want to establish themselves as good Librarians are struggling hard with the works written in English. This prompted me to produce a work of this kind in Tamil and publish it within a short time for its utility”. Simplicity and perfection are the keynotes of success of her work. This is really a timely publication which has all the basic qualities of a very good subject dictionary as a standard work of reference.