A STUDY ON THE USAGE OF THE SRI LANKA NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abstract

T h i s i s a study of t h e usage of t h e S r i Lanka N a t i o n a l B i b l i o g r a p hy (SLNB) i n o r d e r to f i n d out the type of u s e r s , purpose of use, f a c t o r s t h a t a f f e c t the usage and t o f i n d out ways and means of improving the usage of SLNB t o make i t a more u s e f u l source of i n f o r m a t i o n. T h i s study i s based on a survey conducted by a d m i n i s t e r i ng q u e s t i o n n a i r e s t o 87 l i b r a r i a n s who were s u b s c r i b e r s of t h e SLNB and 28 r e s e a r c h e r s ( s c h o l a r l y users) who had r e g i s t e r e d a t the N a t i o n a l L i b r a r y of S r i Lanka (NLSL). Further the study has explored the h i s t o r i c a l background, o b j e c t i v e s , p r e s e n t s t a t u s, r e t r o s p e c t i v e a c t i v i t i e s and c o m p i l a t i o n and d i s t r i b u t i o n of SLNB by c o l l e c t i n g data from secondary sources a v a i l a b l e. I t was found t h a t the m a j o r i t y of l i b r a r i a n s and l i b r a r y s t a f f i n various types of l i b r a r i e s use the S L N B while i t s use by the researchers and o t h e r s i s i n s i g n i f i c a n t . Most l i b r a r i a n s use i t f o r t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s , s p e c i a l l y as a t o o l f o r book s e l e c t i o n and f o r r e f e r e n c e purposes. It i s used by the researchers mostly as a r e f e r e n c e source. The f i n d i n g s r e v e a l e d t h a t the main f a c t o r s a f f e c t i n g SLNB's usage are, lack of awareness of i t s u s e f u l n e s s and importance as a source of i n f o r m a t i o n , and inadequate p u b l i c i t y.