Information metamorphosis in physics and astronomy libraries

Abstract

There is an enormous range of available information in the world. The role of the library is to select, acquire, organise and make available an appropriate subset of these resources. Information technology has changed the format of the information, thus enhancing the quality and accessibility. Library has a great responsibility in this changed Digital World of information to identify the required sources, suitable and essential for its consumption.Physics and Astronomy libraries have an intense participation in balancing the tools of information technology and the traditional information resources in their disciplines. Essentially, the goal of these libraries is to match the institution’s needs and budget against the available information and its costs. Increasingly, digital information, especially in Physics and Astronomy comes with a price tag, sometimes frighteningly large. But the library negotiating on behalf of the institution (and perhaps as a part of a consortium) has a chance of providing access to the required information at a reasonable cost. We discuss here, the important electronic s ources available in Physics and Astronomy disciplines and their optimum use in the libraries.