Examination of bibliographical standards followed by Sri Lankan authors: a case study of the subject related books acquired by the main library, University of Peradeniya

Abstract

Book publishing is indispensable in the knowledge society. The details of title page, ISBN, Copyright, Cataloguing In Publication (CIP) data, year of publication, place of the publication, publisher, page numbers are essential bibliographical information for publishing a book. When librarians acquire books it is observed that some authors/publishers do not follow basic bibliographical requirements or standards for their publications. Missing of this information affects the preparation of the library catalogue, compilation of the library databases and other documentation. This paper addresses these issues with specific reference to publishing of books by Sri Lankan authors. The main objective of this study is to identify the authors’ behavior in using bibliographical information in their book publishing. Content analysis was adopted for this study. The guideline for authors prepared by the National Library and Documentation Services Board was selected to find the basic criteria and 17 criteria which are the most important criteria to consider in publishing of books have been identified. Out of the subject related books which were acquired by the Main library in January and February 2016, 51 titles were selected. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. All the authors have clearly understood how to use the title and author on the title page. The details of the publisher have been included by 97% of the authors, but the place of publishing was properly indicated only by 30%. CIP data had been included only by 69% and only 23% of the authors had added the details of the copyright. The ISBN number had been included by 94%. Using of a standard referencing style is essential in subject related books, and according to this survey 69% have not followed a standard referencing style. A total of 31% followed various types of reference styles. According to the above findings, it was revealed that there is a positive trend in the use of bibliographical standards in publishing of books but there are certain inadequacies. All libraries should have authors’ guidelines to make them aware of basic bibliographical information which should be included in their publications. It is necessary to encourage authors to follow ISO Standards.