Understanding Non-Book Material in Libraries: Types, Uses, and Challenges

Walk into any well-equipped library today and you will find far more than rows of printed books. There are maps spread across wide drawers, microfilm reels tucked into cabinets, CDs and DVDs on display racks, and computers loading digital archives. These resources are collectively known as Non-Book Materials (NBMs), and they have become a defining feature of the modern library. Understanding what they are, how they are classified, why they matter, and what problems they create for librarians is essential for anyone studying how information is organised and managed.

What is non-book material? 🔗

Non-Book Material refers to every library resource that does not follow the traditional printed book or codex format. A widely cited definition describes non-book material as something other than a book, such as a manuscript, microfilm, map, or other holding that is not in the conventional bound form. Harrod’s Librarian’s Glossary explains it as those library materials that fall under special holdings, including audio-visual materials, vertical file materials, microforms, and computer software.

In simpler terms, NBMs are information carriers that use media other than printed paper to store and present knowledge. They may be visual, auditory, a combination of both, or fully digital. A useful way to position them is within the broader scheme of library materials, where collections are often divided into conventional resources like books and periodicals, non-conventional resources such as audio, visual, and microform materials, and machine-generated documents. NBMs largely occupy that non-conventional space.

Why non-book material matters 🔗

The significance of NBMs has grown steadily as information technology has advanced. Libraries are no longer simple book repositories; they have transformed into multimedia information centres. NBMs allow a library to capture knowledge that printed text cannot express well. A geography student gains more from a relief model than a paragraph, a music student needs an actual recording rather than a description, and a researcher of historical events benefits from original film footage. By holding these formats, libraries serve learners with different needs and learning styles, while also preserving primary source materials essential for serious academic work.

Types of non-book materials 🔗

The most authoritative classification of NBMs comes from the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Second Edition (AACR2), which dedicates separate chapters to each major category of non-book resource. These categories form the standard framework taught in library science courses and used by cataloguers worldwide. Chapters 3 to 11 of AACR2 cover the specific formats, while chapter 1 lays down rules applicable to all types of materials regardless of medium.

Cartographic materials 🔗

This category covers all resources that represent geographical or spatial information. It includes maps, atlases, globes, relief models, aerial charts, remote sensing images, and plans. Cartographic materials provide spatial context for historical, political, environmental, and cultural study. The Survey of India and various state agencies produce official maps that libraries preserve for research and reference. A globe or a relief model communicates terrain and scale in ways that a flat textbook image simply cannot.

Manuscripts 🔗

Manuscripts are handwritten or typed documents that are usually unique. India holds one of the richest manuscript heritages in the world, and institutions like the National Mission for Manuscripts work to document and conserve them. When cataloguing a manuscript, librarians record details such as its provenance, the number of leaves, the type of paper, and the binding. Because each manuscript is one of a kind, careful description is what makes it discoverable and distinguishable from similar works.

Music and sound recordings 🔗

Music as a non-book format includes printed scores, miniature scores, chorus scores, and other musical notations. Separately, sound recordings cover the actual audio held on media such as discs, cassettes, sound cartridges, and digital files. For music scores, cataloguers capture the title, composer, arranger or editor, the medium of performance, and the instrumentation. For sound recordings, the focus shifts to the performers, the recording format, and the playing time. Both formats are vital for music departments, language laboratories, and oral history collections.

Motion pictures and video recordings 🔗

This group includes films, documentaries, educational videos, and recorded lectures on formats ranging from older film reels to DVDs and digital video files. Moving images are powerful teaching tools because they combine sight, sound, and motion. A medical demonstration, a historical newsreel, or a recorded performance carries information that static media cannot replicate.

Graphic materials 🔗

Graphic materials are two-dimensional visual resources that are not cartographic. They include photographs, filmstrips, slides, posters, charts, transparencies, and works of art such as prints and drawings. These items support visual learning across subjects from biology to art history, and many libraries maintain photograph collections that document local and national history.

Computer files and electronic resources 🔗

Originally called machine-readable data files in AACR2 and later renamed computer files in the 1988 revision, this category covers software, databases, datasets, CD-ROMs, and online resources. As libraries digitised, this became one of the fastest-growing parts of any collection. The National Digital Library of India is a prominent example of how electronic resources now deliver vast collections directly to students across the country.

Microforms 🔗

Microforms are documents photographed and reduced to a fraction of their original size, stored on microfilm reels, microfiche, and aperture cards. They are read using special magnifying equipment. Libraries have long used microforms to preserve newspapers, journals, and rare records because they save enormous amounts of shelf space and resist the rapid decay that affects original paper.

Three-dimensional artefacts and realia 🔗

This category includes models, sculptures, scientific specimens, games, dioramas, and real objects used for study, known as realia. Such items give concrete, tangible learning experiences. A botanical specimen, a coin from an archaeological site, or an anatomical model lets learners engage with knowledge directly rather than only reading about it.

Utilities of non-book materials 🔗

Non-book materials offer practical advantages that explain why libraries continue to invest in them despite the effort involved in managing them.

Space-saving capacity 🔗

Many NBMs store a remarkable volume of information in very little physical space. A single microfilm reel can hold thousands of newspaper pages, and a digital storage device can carry an entire reference collection. For libraries struggling with limited shelving, this compactness is a major benefit. Converting bulky paper records to microform or digital format frees up valuable floor space for other uses.

Durability and preservation 🔗

Some non-book formats outlast ordinary paper, which yellows and crumbles over time. Microfilm, when stored under proper conditions, can survive for many decades, which is why it remains a trusted method for preserving fragile originals. Digitisation goes further by allowing libraries to preserve materials beyond their natural life and protect content that would otherwise be lost to deterioration.

Accessibility and resource sharing 🔗

Digital and electronic NBMs can be accessed remotely and shared with many users at the same time. A scanned manuscript or an e-journal can be opened by students in different cities simultaneously, something a single printed copy can never allow. This wider reach supports inter-library loans and large national projects that bring scarce resources to a much larger audience.

Enhanced learning experiences 🔗

NBMs enrich education by engaging more than one sense. Video, audio, models, and interactive software make complex topics more accessible and memorable. They support different learning styles and turn abstract concepts into concrete, observable experiences, which is especially valuable in technical and scientific subjects.

Challenges in using non-book material 🔗

For all their benefits, NBMs create real difficulties for libraries. Managing them well requires planning, money, and expertise.

Storage and handling issues 🔗

Different formats need different storage conditions. Film and microform require controlled temperature and humidity, magnetic media degrade if stored poorly, and three-dimensional artefacts need protective housing. Unlike books that sit neatly on uniform shelves, NBMs often demand specialised cabinets, sleeves, and containers. Improper storage leads to fading, warping, and permanent loss of valuable content.

Technological obsolescence 🔗

Perhaps the most serious challenge is that technology keeps changing. Formats and the devices that read them become outdated, and the content trapped on them becomes unreadable. Studies on digital preservation in Indian libraries identify technological obsolescence, hardware and software dependence, and a multitude of competing formats as central problems. Floppy disks and certain video formats are already difficult to access today. To keep this material usable, libraries must repeatedly migrate content to newer formats, which is both costly and ongoing.

Need for specialised equipment and skills 🔗

Most NBMs cannot be used without dedicated equipment. Microfilm needs readers, sound recordings need players, and computer files need compatible hardware and software. This equipment is expensive to buy and maintain, and it too becomes obsolete. Beyond machines, cataloguing these materials is complex because deciding the access point and writing an accurate physical description is harder than for conventional books. Information from one source within an item may even differ from another, complicating description further. Libraries therefore need trained staff who understand both the formats and the cataloguing rules that govern them.

Financial constraints 🔗

Building and sustaining an NBM collection is expensive. Acquisition, specialised storage, equipment, software licences, staff training, and continuous format migration all add up. Research on digital preservation in India points to financial limitations and skill gaps as recurring obstacles. For many institutions with tight budgets, balancing these costs against the benefits is a constant struggle.

Bringing it together 🔗

Non-book materials have moved from the margins to the centre of library collections. From cartographic materials and manuscripts to computer files and microforms, each format carries knowledge that printed books cannot fully capture. They save space, aid preservation, widen access, and deepen learning. At the same time, they demand careful storage, specialised equipment, skilled staff, and steady funding, while the threat of technological obsolescence never goes away. For the modern librarian, the task is not simply to collect these resources but to organise, describe, and protect them so that future readers can still reach the information they hold.

What do you think? If you were managing a library with a limited budget, would you prioritise digitising your fragile collections now, or invest in physical preservation methods like microfilm that may last longer? And which type of non-book material do you believe will be most at risk of becoming unreadable within the next twenty years?

References

1. https://www.librarianshipstudies.com/2018/12/anglo-american-cataloguing-rules-aacr.html
2. https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/53095/1/Unit-4.pdf
3. https://www.namami.gov.in/
4. https://ndl.iitkgp.ac.in/
5. https://www.dpconline.org/blog/wdpd/digital-preservation-of-indian-cultural-heritage
6. https://ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in/lisp8/chapter/digital-preservation-part-i/
7. https://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/35746/5/Unit-8.pdf
8. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270214770_DIGITAL_PRESERVATION_ISSUES_AND_CHALLENGES_ON_LIBRARIES_AND_INFORMATION_RESOURCE_CENTRES_IN_INDIA