Information Seeking Behavior of Users in Rare

Collection Section of National Library, India

2. Introduction.
The National Library has an impressive number of rare books and other reading
materials. In 1973, a separate Rare Books division was established. At present
the books published prior to 1860 are considered rare books, along with limited
and first editions, books distinguished by their design, illustration or history,
and a few other criteria. Along with rare books, manuscripts and microfilms of
the library are also stacked in this division.
The division also provides reading facilities to the users who wish to consult
these items. At present the division has 4700 monographs, 3000 manuscripts
and 1500 microfilms.

National Library has about 3600 rare and historically important manuscripts
in different languages. These manuscripts are preserved separately along
with other important and rare books in the Rare Books division. The
xylographs presented by H. E. the Dalai Lama are also preserved in this
collection.
The library has an extensive collection of maps from the 17th century
onwards. Indian topographical sheets of earlier days (at scale of one inch,
half inch and quarter inch to a mile) and maps of natural resources,
population, transport and communication systems, agricultural production,
soil, vegetation and the geology of India form the major part of the
collection. At present the library has 85,000 printed maps, 54 cartographic
manuscripts, and 280 atlases
The library has around 500 rolls of Microfilms and 1000 Microfiches. These
are preserved in the Rare Books division. The Census of India (1872-1951)
is one of the most important and rare document available in the form of
Microfiches.

3. Statement of the Problem.

The National Library carry out a user education programmes which involves
the teaching of Library skills, a library tour, and associate with formation
retrieval tools at the beginning of every academic year. This is followed by

hands-on-tutorials on the use of the available e-resources of the library so

that they will not face any problem while using the library. As user come
from different backgrounds some of which possess better skills to utilize
library materials, while others do not have adequate skills for utilizing
library materials such as using a computer, use of internet and library
catalogues. So there are some use who face difficulties in accessing and
using library materials. They take time to understand and use the library so
the authors embark on this study, with the hope of finding their problems
and find out the solution so that the materials in the library can be put into
maximum utilization.
4. Review of Literature.
When reading through your sources, you want to remember that you are
looking for the big picture, not a collection of random, separate articles.
You are looking for common themes and patterns in the research as a whole.
You are also looking for gapswhich areas of your topic are still in need of
further research? (Usually this can be found in the very last section of
academic journal articles, labeled future research)
Also ask yourself, are there any research studies in this area that contradict
each other? (Usually there are, so be sure to look for these!)
A helpful way to find common themes and patterns in your research is to
write out a brief paragraph on each article or source that you read. Always
begin by writing the last names of the author(s) and the date, so that you can
easily find this information again (be sure to save your articles in a folder if
you are reading through a University online journal database, such as
Ebscohost). Then, after you read the article or source, write out your
summary. It may be helpful to use bullet points, numbered lists, or whatever
you feel like using to help you record what you read. Your paragraph can be
as long or short as you want it to be, but it should not ever be more than a
page. Sometimes you may find you only need a few sentences.
1 If the article is empirical, write down the results of the research
study in one or two sentences of your own words. An example would
be, Individuals who lived in Location A were more likely to be dog
owners than individuals who lived in Location B. This is a solid
sentence that informs us of the main point of the research study.

2 If the article is a review, also look for the main point. It may be
helpful to read or skim the whole article, look away, and ask yourself
what you felt was the main idea.
3 Other information you may want to include in your paragraph: any
limitations or gaps you noticed, anything that seems to contradict
something you read elsewhere, or just anything that you think is
important or interesting.
4 If the article is empirical, it is also a good idea to write down the
methods that were used, the research design, the number of
participants, and the type of population.
5 Sometimes, you may even want to write down the names of the
statistical procedures used to analyze the data or even some of the
statistics, depending on your assignment.

5. Objectives, Scope, Sample and Hypotheses.

5.1 Objectives of the Study
All readers are required to read and agree to a "READER'S
REGISTRATION AND AGREEMENT TO COMPLY WITH THE
RULES FOR USE OF RARE MATERIALS IN THE NATIONAL
LIBRARY " form, available in the Reading Room, which states the
following:
Researchers must have an adult reader registration card (18 and above years
of age) at time of submitting requests to access material in the Rare Book
Division.
1. Deposit personal property not essential to work in lockers provided by the
Division.
Items allowed in the Reading Room:
Pencils
Computers
Cameras
Phones (on silent mode)
Personal or supplied loose sheets of paper for notes or reference

Items not allowed in the Reading Room:

Bags of any kind
Pens
Personal books and bound material
Tripods
2. Photography is only available after librarian consultation. Permission to
photograph items in the collection is based on availability of digitized copies
and condition of the items.
3. Exercise the greatest possible care to prevent damage to items from the
Librarys collections.
4. Observe any special handling condition indicated by the reading room
staff. Materials are to be consulted in cradles at all times unless otherwise
noted by Library staff.
5. Handle the material only at assigned places and return it to a staff member
at the issue desk whenever leaving the room. Remain in the Reading Room
until a staff member has checked all returned items.
6. Submit for inspection any loose sheets before leaving the Reading Room.
7. Acknowledge that the Library neither grants nor denies permission to
publish or quote from material in its collections. (Consult with reading room
staff about questions dealing with Copyright and the duplication of items in
the division.)

5.2 Scope of the study

Library is a place where rare books and other reading materials are kept for
use. But the structure and functions of library have changed since the
emergence of its concept and the establishment of the first library in Nepal
and elsewhere. There are different types of library providing different
service to the users. Lending and circulation is one of the important and
most used services of the National library today.
It has stated that in library, rare books and other reading materials are
collected for use, kept for use and served for use. The circulation section is
in complete charge of the mechanics of the use of books by the readers
outside the library. It is the performance and attitude of the circulation
section that largely makers or mars the reputation of the library.

5.3 Sample
5.4 Hypotheses
6. Methodology
7. Limitations
8. Organization of the Study (Tentative chapterisation)

9. Conclusion
By looking at aspects of the Rare Book Division's holdings ranging from
religion and reform to popular culture and literature, we have attempted to
highlight the strengths of rare book holdings related to United States women's
history, to demonstrate the richness and variety of these resources, and to point
out some of the division's contemporary holdings and unique treasures.
Because the Rare Book Classified Collection mirrors holdings in the General
Collections, most of the same subjects and formats are found in both and may
be accessed using the same subject headings and search strategies. Because not
all of the division's special collections have online access, it is important to
consult special card files and finding aids in the Rare Book Reading Room in
addition to the online catalog. While we could not touch on all subjects and
formats that might interest researchers, we hope this survey of holdings will
suggest new ways in which the division's resources can be used to complement
materials found in other Library divisions.

10. Reference and Bibliography

11. Index