Classifying Information: Types Based on Source, Channel, Media, and More

Every day we deal with information in countless forms-a road sign, a textbook chapter, a WhatsApp forward, a research paper, or a government circular. But not all information is the same. To use it well, we first need to understand how it can be organised. In Library and Information Science, classifying information is one of the foundational skills because it shapes how we store, retrieve, and share knowledge. This post breaks down five practical ways to classify information: by its source, its channel, its media, its recipient, and the needs it serves.

Why classifying information matters 🔗

Information becomes useful only when it reaches the right person, in the right form, at the right time. A scientist studying a disease and a school student writing an essay on the same disease need very different kinds of information. Classification gives us a framework to match information with purpose. It also helps libraries and information centres decide what to collect, how to arrange it, and how to guide users to the most reliable material. Without a system of categories, we would be left searching through an undifferentiated heap of facts.

There is no single “correct” way to classify information. Instead, each scheme answers a different question-where did it come from, how does it travel, what physical form does it take, who is it for, and what need does it meet. Let us look at each one.

By source: where the information originates 🔗

Source-based classification looks at the mode in which information is communicated and the level of originality it carries. At the broadest level, information sources are divided into documentary and non-documentary types. Documentary sources contain information in a fixed, reproducible form, while non-documentary sources include oral and interactive forms such as conversations with experts, fieldwork, and direct observation.

Modes of communication: signals, text, and graphics 🔗

Information can travel through different signals. Audio signals carry spoken words and sounds, as in radio broadcasts or podcasts. Text communicates through written language, which remains the backbone of books and journals. Graphics convey meaning through images, maps, charts, and diagrams, often expressing complex relationships that text alone cannot. Many modern formats combine all three, but recognising the basic modes helps us understand how a message is encoded before it reaches us.

Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources 🔗

The most important source-based distinction in LIS is the division into primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. This scheme, popularised by the British information scientist Denis Grogan, is based on the level of originality and the order in which sources appear. Primary sources contain original information recorded for the first time-research articles, patents, theses, conference papers, standards, and technical reports fall here. As INFLIBNET’s study material explains, primary information tends to be the latest but is widely scattered across many publications.

Secondary sources repackage and reorganise the content of primary sources to make it easier to locate. Textbooks, reference books, review articles, and indexing and abstracting journals are typical examples. Tertiary sources appear last and mostly help users find primary and secondary material rather than carrying subject content themselves. Bibliographies of bibliographies, directories, and guides to the literature belong to this group, as described in IGNOU’s eGyanKosh module on categories of information sources.

By channel: how information is disseminated 🔗

While source-based classification asks where information begins, channel-based classification asks how it spreads. A channel is the route through which information moves from its origin to its user. The same fact about a new agricultural technique can reach a farmer through a printed pamphlet, an extension officer, a krishi vigyan kendra, or a television programme.

Literature as a channel 🔗

Recorded literature is the most familiar channel. Books, periodicals, reports, and databases carry information across distances and across generations. Literature is durable, citable, and searchable, which makes it the preferred channel for academic and scientific communication. A research finding published in a peer-reviewed journal becomes part of the permanent record and can be accessed long after its author is gone.

Organisations and institutions as channels 🔗

Information also flows through people and bodies. Organisations such as research laboratories, professional associations, and companies generate and circulate information among their members. Institutions such as universities, government departments, and libraries act as both repositories and distributors. For example, bodies like the Indian Council of Agricultural Research or the National Informatics Centre channel specialised knowledge to specific user communities. These human and institutional channels often supply current information faster than published literature, especially when a topic is too new or too specialised to have reached print.

By media: the physical carrier of information 🔗

Media-based classification focuses on the physical form in which information is stored and carried. The carrier affects how information is produced, preserved, and accessed, and the shift from one medium to another has repeatedly reshaped libraries.

Print media 🔗

Print remains the most traditional carrier. Books, journals, newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets are tangible, easy to read without any device, and require no electricity. Print is reliable for long-term preservation when stored well, though it takes up physical space and can be slow to update.

Microforms 🔗

Microforms such as microfilm and microfiche store text and images in greatly reduced size on film. Though they feel dated in the digital age, they remain valuable for preserving fragile historical records, old newspapers, and large archives that would otherwise consume enormous shelf space. Many archives and university libraries still rely on them for back files.

Digital and electronic media 🔗

Digital media is now the dominant carrier. It includes e-books, e-journals, websites, databases, audio, and video stored in electronic form. Its biggest advantage is accessibility-with an internet connection, a user can reach vast collections at any time and from anywhere. Initiatives like the National Digital Library of India bring together learning resources across formats and languages in a single platform. Yet digital media also brings challenges such as the digital divide, the need for technical infrastructure, and concerns about long-term preservation as file formats and devices become obsolete.

By recipient: who the information is meant for 🔗

Information can also be grouped by the type of recipient it is intended to reach. This helps decide who should receive which information and in what form.

Individuals 🔗

Individuals are the primary consumers of information. A student reading course material, a patient looking up a medication, or a citizen checking the news all seek information for personal learning, decision-making, or self-improvement. Information aimed at individuals is usually shaped for direct, personal use.

Groups, organisations, and institutions 🔗

Beyond individuals, information serves collective recipients. Groups-teams, committees, or research communities-share information to collaborate and solve common problems, often through reports and presentations. Organisations handle information at a larger scale for planning, operations, and decision-making, frequently classifying it by sensitivity. Information security frameworks commonly sort organisational data into levels such as public, internal, confidential, and restricted to control who may access it. Institutions such as governments and universities both receive and redistribute information to serve wider public functions, from policy-making to education.

By information needs: matching information to the user 🔗

The final scheme classifies information by the needs it satisfies. In information science, an information need is understood as the gap in a person’s knowledge that they are trying to fill. Different gaps call for different kinds of information.

Popular information 🔗

Popular information is written for a general audience in plain language. Newspapers, general magazines, and popular science writing such as Science Reporter aim to inform and engage without assuming specialist background knowledge. It prioritises readability over technical depth.

Scientific information 🔗

Scientific information is produced by and for the research community. It appears in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and theses, and follows rigorous standards of evidence and citation. It assumes the reader already understands the field’s concepts and vocabulary, and its purpose is to advance and verify knowledge.

Technical information 🔗

Technical information supports practical application and problem-solving. Manuals, specifications, standards, patents, and trade literature fall here. An engineer consulting a Bureau of Indian Standards document or a technician reading an equipment manual needs precise, actionable detail rather than broad explanation. Technical information bridges the gap between abstract research and real-world practice.

How these schemes work together 🔗

These five classifications are not rival systems-they are complementary lenses. A single document can be described through all of them at once. A research article in an e-journal is, by source, a primary document; by channel, part of recorded literature; by media, digital; by recipient, aimed at researchers; and by need, scientific information. Looking at information through several lenses at the same time is what allows librarians and information professionals to organise collections intelligently and connect each user with exactly what they require. Understanding these categories is therefore not just an academic exercise-it is the practical foundation of how knowledge is managed and shared.

What do you think? Which classification scheme do you find most useful when searching for information for your own studies-and can you think of a resource you use daily that fits into all five categories at once?

References

1. https://ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in/lisp4/chapter/types-of-information-sources-documentary-primary-secondary-and-tertiary/
2. https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/59867/1/Categories%20of%20Information%20Sources.pdf
3. https://ndl.iitkgp.ac.in/
4. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/blogs/information-classification-in-information-security/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_needs