functionsin the last two decades there have been

Question

FUNCTIONS

In the last two decades there have been tremendous developments in production of documents. The volume of published literature has enormously increased. Bibliography or rather bibliographic control is a direct consequence of enormous growth in published literature.

The chief function of a bibliography is to help the users in locating the required information source in the fastest possible manner. Some of the functions of a bibliography are listed below:

1. It is a systematic guide to the literature of the subject; 
2. It locates a title on a given subject and identifies the bibliographical details on it (author, publisher, date and place of publication, etc.);
3. It provides a selection tool in acquiring materials for the library;
4. It helps in obtaining information on complete works, and about an individual author; 
5. It prevents time and efforts of researchers as it helps in selecting relevant and specific documents from the large universe of documents; 
6. It gives direction to researcher by indicating the areas where total research in a subject areas stands and its progress; 
7. It is useful for carrying out retrospective search for the purposes of research; 
8. It enhances application of existing knowledge and activates the creation of new knowledge; and 
9. It assists a librarian to be selective, in case the budget is rather limited.