Students of library and information science often use the terms “information sources” and “information resources” as if they mean the same thing. In everyday conversation, that habit is harmless. But in academic study and professional practice, the two terms describe different things, and confusing them can blur how you understand the work of a library. This post unpacks what each term means, where they overlap, and why the distinction matters for anyone who plans to work with information for a living.
Table of Contents
- What information sources actually are
- The print and digital split
- What information resources actually are
- Why technology sits at the centre of resources
- How librarians use information sources every day
- Examples of information resources and Schneyman’s framework
- Data processing
- Communication networks
- Storage systems
- The key differences at a glance
What information sources actually are
An information source is simply a place, person, or object from which information can be obtained. The sources from which we get information include documents, human beings, institutions, and mass media such as radio and television. In other words, a source is a point of origin. It makes information available to you.
Sources matter to libraries and their users for very practical reasons. They indicate current developments in a field, help avoid duplication in research, answer specific queries, and provide both broad overviews and in-depth treatment of a topic. A student researching a new subject might begin with an encyclopedia for background, move to books for depth, and then read journal articles for the latest findings. Each of these is an information source serving a different need.
Sources are usually grouped into two broad families. Documentary sources are all recorded materials, whether published or unpublished, in print or electronic form, and they are further divided into primary, secondary, and tertiary categories. Non-documentary sources are those not contained in any document, such as conversations with experts, professional organisations, government departments, and the internet. This two-part structure is the backbone of how the subject is taught.
The print and digital split
Most information was traditionally thought of as living in print. With internet access, a large share of those printed materials is now also available electronically. A book becomes an e-book, a periodical article becomes an online journal article, and a printed catalogue becomes an online public access catalogue. The underlying source is the same; only the format has changed. This is an important point because it shows that “source” is about content and origin, not about the medium that delivers it.
What information resources actually are
An information resource is a wider idea. A resource is something that can be used to perform a function or to create something new. The data and information assets of an organisation are its information resources, and so are the related assets such as personnel, equipment, and information technology. Notice how the definition pulls in more than just content. It includes the people who manage information and the machines that store and move it.
This is the key difference in plain language. A source makes something available. A resource helps you build a service or a product. If a library uses the sources it holds to generate a new service, those sources function as resources for that service. So a single item, such as a database, can be a source when you consult it for facts and a resource when the library deploys it to deliver a current-awareness service.
There is one context where the two terms genuinely collapse into one. Within libraries and information centres, information sources and information resources often refer to the same thing. Encyclopaedias, books, articles, and websites are routinely called both. This overlap is exactly why the confusion is so common, and why it is worth being deliberate about which sense you mean.
Why technology sits at the centre of resources
Managing electronic information resources is quite different from managing a shelf of printed books. Unlike a book, computer equipment and networks are needed to access electronic information. An e-resource is material that requires computer mediation to access its content. The moment you depend on hardware, networks, and software to reach information, you are squarely in the territory of resources rather than plain sources. This is the conceptual bridge that links information resources to information and communication technology.
How librarians use information sources every day
For working librarians and information scientists, sources are the raw material of the job. The daily routine of reference and information work involves matching a user’s question to the right source. Principles of information retrieval such as classification, indexing, and document description exist precisely to make sources findable through catalogues and databases.
Librarians develop a set of information-handling skills built around sources: defining a user’s information need, finding sources across a range of media, evaluating them for reliability, and then organising and presenting what they find. To support this, libraries maintain access tools, which fall into three broad groups: library catalogues, printed indexes and databases, and web indexes and search engines. These tools do not contain the information themselves. They point the user toward the source that does. A reference librarian choosing an almanac for a quick fact, or a database for a research query, is making source-level decisions all day long.
Examples of information resources and Schneyman’s framework
When the discussion shifts to information resources, the emphasis moves from content to the technological systems that handle that content. One way the subject organises these technology-centred resources is through the classification associated with Schneyman, which groups information resources around the functions a computerised information environment must perform.
Data processing
This category covers the systems that convert raw data into usable information. Information is a product of data processing; it is data that has been given meaning through relational connection. The hardware and software that perform this conversion, from servers to application programs, are treated as information resources because they create value rather than simply storing it.
Communication networks
The second category is the network infrastructure that moves information between systems and users. The tools of the information society are computers and telecommunications working together. Local networks, wide-area networks, and the internet itself are resources because they enable the distribution and sharing of information across distance. Without this layer, a digital collection would be locked inside a single machine.
Storage systems
The third category is the equipment used to hold information so it can be retrieved later. This includes disks, servers, storage appliances, and the large-scale databases that libraries depend on. Storage is a resource because it underpins every service a digital library offers, from full-text databases to online catalogues. The capacity to keep, protect, and retrieve information at scale is a managerial and technical asset, not a single document.
Taken together, these three categories show why information resources are tied so closely to information and communication technologies. Each one names a class of technology that a modern information centre must plan for, fund, and manage. Library science increasingly incorporates database management, information architecture, and information management for exactly this reason.
The key differences at a glance
The cleanest way to hold the two ideas apart is to remember what each one does. An information source is concerned with content, the documents, people, and institutions that supply the raw material for learning and research. An information resource is concerned with the systems and technologies used to manage, store, and retrieve that content.
This difference also maps onto two different sides of library work. Information sources align with the traditional function of the library as a repository, ensuring that users can reach a wide range of content in print or digital form. Information resources align with the technology and information management side of the profession, where the focus is on infrastructure, networks, and digital systems. A source answers the question “where does this information come from?” A resource answers the question “what do we use to handle this information?”
One final clarification helps avoid a common error. Sources should not be confused with reference sources either. An information source is anything that provides required information, while a reference source is compiled specifically to deliver information in the most convenient form, such as a dictionary or directory. Keeping these three terms distinct, sources, reference sources, and resources, gives you a precise vocabulary for the field.
What do you think? When you visit your own college library, which items strike you as pure information sources, and which feel more like technology-driven information resources? And as libraries become increasingly digital, do you think the line between a “source” and a “resource” will grow sharper or fade away entirely?
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