Contents: Vol. I. Libraries and Reference Services: Preface. 1. Libraries and reference services. 2. Digital age and electronic serials. 3. Special types of materials: selection and acquisition. 4. Reference services and instruction. 5. Search strategies for information. 6. Electronic reference services. Glossary. Select Bibliography. Index.

Vol. II. Managing Libraries in Digital Era: Preface. 1. Recent advances in library management. 2. Essentials of library budgeting. 3. Practical selection process. 4. Library management and preservation. 5. Makers of information materials. 6. Major functions and guidelines. 7. Managing procurement. 8. Organization of the library. 9. Model rules for libraries. Glossary. Select bibliography. Index.

Vol. III. Computers in Libraries: Preface. 1. Introduction to information systems. 2. Library information retrieval system. 3. Libraries and online information retrieval. 4. Managing the information system. 5. Libraries: resource sharing and networking. 6. Libraries in India: networking and usage. 7. Library house-keeping operations and automation. 8. Impacts of desktop publishing in information centres and libraries. 9. Library and hardware and software. Glossary. Select bibliography. Index.

Vol. IV. Recent Advances in Library Classification and Acquisition: Preface. I. Library classification: 1. Library classification: an introduction. 2. Library classification: theory and the internet. 3. Library classification schemes and user-oriented class associations. 4. Library classification schemes and internet resources. 5. Nippon Decimal Classification (NDC). 6. Automatic book classification. 7. Classification practices in India. II. Library acquisitions: 8. Acquisition under contract: copyright in library. 9. Managing and acquisition windfall. 10. Evaluation. 11. Acquisition practice in India. 12. Policies on book selection and acquisition. Glossary. Select bibliography. Index.

Vol. V. Library Cataloguing: Principles and Practices: Preface. 1. Cataloguing: principles and practices. 2. Major functions of catalogue. 3. Centralized cataloguing and processing. 4. Cataloguing codes: an introduction. 5. Business approach in cataloguing. 6. Policies on collection development. 7. Cataloguing: knowledge access management. 8. Trends in cataloguing of audiovisual materials. 9. Cataloguing of electronic serials. Glossary. Select bibliography. Index.

"Libraries have always been amongst the most important providers of information in higher education. They have acted as storehouses of written or printed material, and it has been their job to collect it, preserve it, and make it accessible. These traditional media, and the role of libraries in making them available, will continue.

The present work, in five volumes, contains judiciously selected readings derived from various authoritative sources which are all secondary, e.g. monographs abstracts, reviews, books, journals and magazine, x-raying library and information science in pros and cons. The readings are highly useful and informative." (jacket)