annals of library science and doclimentation 46, i: 1999...

Annals of Library Sc ie nce and Doclimentation 46, I : 1999: 25-37.

LAND AND SOIL RESOURCES INFORMATION MANAGEMENT IN INDIA: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

Y M PaW Documentation Officer National Bureau of Soil Survey & Land Use Planning (ICAR)

Amravati Road Nagpur - 440 010

Information is an important resource, which is growing exponentially both in conventional and unconventional forms. In order to keep agricultural researchers informed about latest developments in their field of specialisation, a new breed of information industry has emerged, a viable and an effective information system in the field of agricultural sciences at national level is envisaged with emphasis on soil information system by integrating existing systems and services. A variety of information resources, their accessibility including primary, secondary and tertiary sources are identified and listed. Computerised databases like CABI, AGRIS and AGRICOLA are briefed including coverage of literature, their accessibility, on-line search etc.

INTRODUCTION

In a perspective national development, information at various levels plays a vital role in achieving the set national goals. Informati on has been recognised as a national resource , an important commodity, which should be identified , acquired , organised , preserved and monitored for use in evolving strategies for national development. In an 'Information Society', a country's development is viewed from an angle of development of its information infrastructure , and the better it is organised, the country is in better path of progress and prosperity.

In India, the massive growth of information infrastructure in the recent past is directly linked with steady growth in science and technology. Since independence, introduction of five year plans. resulted in emergence of a large number of scientific , technical and industrial institutes . Presently there are more than 1500 major

Vo l 46 No 1 March 1999

PS G Kumar Head Department.of Library

& Information Science Nagpur University Nagpur - 440 010

institutions under the aegis of various ministries and different departments of Government of India, viz. Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) ; Department of Space Research (DOS) ; Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR); Department of Electronics (DOE ) ; Department of Science and Technology (DST) ; Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO); Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) ; Indian Council of Medical Research ( ICMR) , etc. Each of these units have independently developed information resources in the form of technical libraries , documentation centres, information centres, etc . to cater to information needs of varied users in specific site environment. There was an urgent need to integrate existing information systems/services for maximum utilization of available information at different locations spread allover the country.

NATIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (NISSAT)

The urgency of information needs, the availability of information resources and their integration for maximum utilization for national development is a widely accepted concept. The philosophy that information is a basic ingredient and an essential input for national development as envisaged by UNISIST Programme of UNESCO is widely accepted by all nations of the world. As a result , National Information System (NATIS) concept has come into vogue and all United Nations member countries are evolving National Information Systems under the UNISIST Programme.

It was felt necessary that NATIS should aim at interlinking existing information systems , services and sources for optimum utilization taking into

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Y M Patil and PSG Kumar

cons ideration three kinds of information, viz .

Scientific and technical information Techno-economic information Management informat ion system .

Nati ona l Information System for Science and Technology (NISSAT) was established during 1977 under the aegis of Department of Science and Technology Government of India with the following objectives [1]

Provi s ion of national information service relevan t to prese nt needs and capab le of d eve lo pm ent t o mee t fu t ure nee d s of generators, processo rs , disseminators and users of information ;

Optimum utilization of exis tin g information services and systems and development of new ones;

* Promotion of nationa l and in tern ati onal coopera ti on and liaison for excha ng e of information ;

Support and active encouragement for the development of fac iliti es for education and training in information sc ience and technology;

Support and active partic ipation of R&D in information science, and

Support and promot ion of re sea rc h , development and innovation in information technology.

Under th e l ramework of NISSAT, a few sectoral information centres have been set up to provid e bibliographic, factual and numeric information on product , discipline or mission [2] as given in Table1.

Table 1

NISSA T'S Sectora l Information Centres

Sectoral Centres Host Institution

1. Leather Technology CLRI , Madras 2. Food Technology (NICFOS) CFTRI , Mysore 3. Machine Too ls & Production (NICMAP) CMTI , Bangalore 4. Drugs & Pharmaceuticals (NICDAP) CDRI , Lucknow 5. Texti les and Allied Subjects (NICTAS) ATIRA, Ahm edabad 6. Chemicals and Allied Industries NCL, Pune

(NICHEM) 7. Advanced Ceramics (NICAC) CGCRI , Calcutta 8. Bibliometrics (NCB) INSDOC, New Delhi 9. Crystallography (NICRYS) Univ. of Madras

10. CD-ROM (Compact Disc) (NICDROM) NAL. Bangalore

NISSAT is a coordinat ing agency for effective network of systems and services in the fi eld of sc ience and technology. It identifies gaps and avoids duplication of efforts and aims at fulfilling effective information requirements at national level for s usta inabl e scientific and technologica l developments in the country.

AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS/ SERVICES

Although. agricu lture is the backbone of nationa l economy. there is no organised information system in the field of ag ricultural sciences at the national level. Indian Counc il of Agricultural Research (I CAR) is a premier national organisation for

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LAND AND SOIL RESOURCES INFORMATION MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

promotion of agricultural research in th e country, and it has vast network of research institutes and agricultural universities. Even after independence, an organised information system for agriculture is not developed and there have been no concerted effo rt s for evo lving a Nati o nal A g ri cultura l Information System.

Out of 89 ICAR Institutes, IARI , NDRI , CIFE and NAARM are nationa l inst itute as well as deemed universities . Each of them has exce llent library resources and serves scientific community to a la rge extent in th eir f ield of special isation.

Similarly, each ICAR Inst itute has its own technical library to cater to information requirements of staff . These institutes are either mission , subject or crops o riented and provide information services like current awareness , SOl , recent add itions lists , se ria l holding li sts and other services as per requ irements . As per a rece nt policy , each institut e's library has an ad equate funding constituting two percent of the insti tut e's total budg et , whic h facilitates excellent resou rce development and other fac ilities.

Many agricultural information workers have been consistentl y advocatin g for establ ishment of a National Agricultural Information System [3,4 .5,6]. In add ition , Association of Agricultural Librarians and Documentalists of India (AALDI) has been propo s in g to ICAR from time to tim e for es tablishment of a nati ona l sys tem thro ugh recommendation of various seminars organised but there has been no positive response in this regard.

However, a recent venture between ICAR and International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) in mooting the idea of computer networking to link ICAR Institutes (89) , ag ricultural universitie s (28) a nd All India Coordinated Research Projects (80). to improve management of information is an excellent effort in this direction. The proposed system is expected to provide for data to National Agricultural Research System on bibliographic information and manag ement info rmation for planning , eva luating and ad ministering research. The initial challenge is to co mputeri se university/ institut e libraries so that they have access to scientifi c and tec hnica l Information [7] .

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NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION SYSTEM

As already stated, there are 89 ICAR Institutes. 28 Agricultura l univ ersities , and 80 All Ind ia Coordinated Res earc h Pro je ct s in va r iou s di scip l in es of agri c ulture be s ides Stal es Departments of Agriculture, state/central agencies . who are actively engaged in research, training and extens ion activities in the whole spectrum of agricultural sciences and technology. Each of these has a spec ialised library collection to cater to information requirements of research workers. All these institutions/agencies can be coordinated and integrated at the national level to develop a feasible Nationa l A gricultural Info rm ati on System for effective and timely dissemination of information at regional and national level. In this context, an outline on conceptua l f ramework of agricu ltural information system is discused below.

Framework of Indian National Information System for Agricultural Sciences (INISAS)

During 1967, ICAR had sponsored an IndoAmerican Agricultural Library Survey under the leadership of Dr. Dorothy Parker, who thoroughly reviewed th e library faciliti es in ICAR Institute libraries like IARI , IVRI and NOR I and declared th ese as Nationa l Libraries in Agriculture, Veterinary and Dairy Sciences respectively [8].

Sin ce then , th e a c tiviti es of IC.A.R hav e considerably expand ed in terms of establishment of chain of research institutes in the disciplines of ag ri cu lture , animal husbandry and f isheri es sciences . Every state has at least one agricultura l university to cater to agricu ltural needs in each region . ICAR is a major funding agency for establ ishement of these institutes . There is an urgent need to integrate a ll such institutes under a common umbrella in order to develop a viable national information system as a three tier system as given in Table 2 .

Th e functi ons , products and services of an information system at all levels may vary with the in formation requirem ents at a given sit e environment. In general , major functional units of a library system could be envisaged [9] as given in Table 3.

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Table 2

Indian National Information System for Agricultural Sciences (INISAS)

National Agricultural Library

* Technical Library

National Informat ion Centres (NICs *)

* Agricultural Research Management Information System

* Agricultural Statist ics Information System

* Dairy Information System * Veterinary Information

System * Horticulturallnforrnation

System * Soil Resources Information

System * Fisheries Information

System * Livestock Information

System

Sectoral Information Centres(SICs*)

* Crops Information System

- Cotton - Rice

Sorghum Plantation Crops

- Tuber Crops Spices

- Jute Potato

- Grasses & Fodder Oil Seeds

- Tobacco Plant Genetic Resources

- Animal Genetic Resources

• The number may be increased as per needs

Tab le 3

Major functional Units of INISAS

Information resources of all kinds, their identification, acquistion; Technical processing of documents; Documents circulation , inter library loan. Documents display and their maintainance

* Information Services Reference/referral Service; CAS/S Ol Abstracting/indexing service Technical enquiry services Subject bibliographies Computerised databases News paper clipping service

* Computerised Information On-line access to external databases; CD-ROM facilities; Developing inhouse databases ;

contd .

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(contn .) Table 3

* Information Use Services

* Common facilities

Institute Publications

Each national and sectoral information centre should collect pertinent information sources for use by potential users . As agricultural is a mission oriented subject , every effort should be made to assess user requ irements by way of periodical surveys and user feedback so that sustainable information flow is maintained. National Agricultural Library should fill up all gaps in holdings of NICs and SICs so that requisite information is ensured when demand warrants within the country and acts as national clearing house for agricultural information. INISAS should have its headquarters in ICAR and can oversee NAL, NICs and SICs for overall development.

With steady growth of scientific and technical information and budget constraints , it is desirable to have network to enable resource sharing among NAL-NICs-SICs so that available resources are utilised to the maximum extent. In order to overcome financial constraints , the national library at IARI should have at its disposal all agricultural databases so that anyone desirous to access information can avail the facilities . This means that centralised on-line access to external databases like AGRIS, CABI , TROPAG, Chemical

Vol 46 No 1 M ardi ll)l)l)

Computerisation of library routines ; Participation in networking (LAN/WAN) User orientation

Liaison work Directory of information sources, specialists , institutes and facilities ; Advisory service; user education

Reprography-photocopying , microfilming ; Translation Printing/publication Computer applications Binding Secretariat

Sales/distribution Maintaining mailing lists Publicity-brochures preperation Assigning ISSN/ISBN numbers

and Biological Abstracts should be ensured.

National information centres should hav e specialised databases in CD-ROM like SOILCD of CABI for Soil Science, in addition to developing their inhouse databases covering information of regional or national interest which otherwise is not found in general databases.

With regard to sectoral information centres , it is worthwhile to develop local databases including all information generated in varied forms covering different eco-reg ions so that availability of sitespecific information requirements is ensured . Networking of NAL, NICs and SICs should be done to achieve free flow of information in all sectors in the domain of agricultural sciences.

As a specific case of NICs. Soil Resources Information System at national level is discussed below:

Soil as a Resource for Agricultural Development

Soil is an important resource which has to be

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managed for better agricultural production. The study of soil either in the field or in the laboratory is complex in nature and is multi-disciplinary in aproach. Th e soil survey, mapping and interpretative data are essentia l ingradients in prospective land use planning for agricultural development in the country.

In order to meet India's food requirements , thrust areas in agricul tural research have been identified and a chain of research institutes has been established under ICAR covering th e entire fi eld of agricultural sciences, besides veterinary, dairy and fisheries sciences .

One of the Nat ional Bureaux, i.e. National Bureau of Soil Survey a nd Land Use Planni ng (NBSS&LUP) came into existence during 1976 with six regional centres located in different parts of the country, Besides, other institutes like All India Soil and Land Use Survey, State Departments of Ag ricu lture, State Agricul tural Universities and State Remote Sensing Agencies, carry out need based so il surveys and compile maps at different scales . The information compiled by such surveys is finally brought out in the form of scientific reports, bull etins, and is made available to user agencies for initiating agricultural development plans.

Role of Documentation

Soil Scientists are experiencing the vast growth of information in varied forms in soil sciences. The role of documentation is important in providing much needed abstracted information and bridging the gap between potential users and the organised library information resources. The emerg ence of new information industry, systems, services and products has paved the way for developments in agricultural research thereby enhancing better crop production. In addition to this, recent developments in telecommunications , computers and information technologies have greatly influenced handling of organised information activ ities .

Role of Information System

How to communicate and use scient ifi c and technica l information effectively has been of serious concern . The steadily growing volume of information, the emergence of new disciplines and

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new links between existing ones and increasing number of diversity of user groups and their needs are obvious and urgent aspects of the information problems in the fi eld of agricultural sciences. The use of agricultural information is primanly for the development of new package of practical utility in :

Investigating information needs Selecting objects for present and future development Accumulating relevant reliable knowledge, and Supporting pract ica l/applied research that generates new insights

The diffusion of knowledge, and decision making informatio'j systems are means for permitt ing us to view th e required material for se lecti v e abstraction in the process of information transfer chain .

Information System for Soi l Resources

In order to monitor soi l information on various aspects at differen t levels, it is des irable to establish Soil Resources Information Sys tem under the umbrella of INISAS as discussed and preferably it should be located at NBSS & LUP which can coordinate and achieve networking with existing state and national organisations . The system is named as 'Information Syst em for Soil Survey and Land Use Planning ' (ISSSLUP) . With regard to functional aspects of ISSSLUP, they are similar to what has already been proposed in Tab le 3 .

In order to develop an information system. a strong information resources base is necessary. In view of this, ways to develop resource collection in the Documentation Centre of NBSS & LUP is 0 tlined below.

Documentation Centre of NBSS & LUP

The Documentation Centre at the headquarters was established in 1979 in order to collect , store, process, synthes is and monitor sc ient if ic and technica l information relating to soil survey and land use programmes. In addition, six reg ional centres located in differents parts of the country are attached with small technical libraries , where collection is based on regional interest.

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Presently the library co llection includes scientific/ technica l books , back volume of journals, annual reports, charts , atlases , maps, microforms , sl ides, cassettes, instit ute publ ications , reprints and subscription to core scientific journals . The entire collection has been organised on modern lines . From this it is evident that there are various kinds of information collection in soil sciences and related fields.

Developing Soil Based Information Resources

The subject of soi l science is multidisciplinary in approach, therefore , its literature constitutes a large variety of information sources comprising basic an d advanced textbooks , treatises , mono graph s, e ncyclopedi as , glossaries , dictionaries , manuals, hand books , statis tical databooks, field books, maps , atlases, journals , bibliographies , grey-literature like so il survey products in the form of reports , technical/research bulletins ; census reports, various commiss ion reports and national/internat ional proceedings and other publications .

Various workers have looked into studies relating to collection development , its organisation, etc. [9, 10,11). As far journal selection is concerned , all core and related titles are to be identifi ed by means of journal citation studies [12) . Procurement of books and other literature should be largely judged by th e merits of their contents by scan ning incoming documents in the library like trade catalogues, rev iews in journals and by keeping liaison with natio nal and internat ional organisations particu larly for grey literature [13) . In addition . exchange programmes for institu te 's publications could be established with all related organisations so that free fl ow of information is ensured.

Important Information Resources

The subject fi e ld of soi l sc iences or more specifi ca lly pedology has wide range of topics within it and all are well represented in varied forms of publications . Although, literature as a whole is classified as primary. secondary and tertiary sources , in a broadest catagory, it can be grouped in two classes , viz . convention al and nonconventional forms .

Vol 46 No I Mmcil il)l)L)

Conventional Forms

Books

Majori ty of information sources in the form of books are published by lead ing Indian and foreig n publishers which give brief account of research done during last 15-20 years and leading the readers to the point of state-of- the art with extens iv e biblio graph ic refe re nces . Som e agencies are specialised in publishing literature in the fi eld of soil sCiences.

Periodicals

There are a good number of journals published both in India and abroad and subscription of all in the library is cost prohibitive . Th erefore, to subscribe pertinent titles . some studies have to be carried out . viz .

1) to assess their use vis-a-vis research projects of the inst itute,

2) ci tat ion patt ern of institutes' researchers in their publications .

3) ci tat ion study of leading research journals of the country.

Serials, Advances and Reviews

These normally appear in each area of study and cover specified period for review to provide current state-of- the art with the aim of comprehensive coverage of information. The following are the serials in Soil Sciences and rela ted fields:

Advances in Soil Sciences ,(1985+) , Springer Verlag Advances in Agronomy, (1949+) , Academic Press Advances in Irri gation, (1982+) . Academic Press

Monographs

Being important sources of information and li ke reviews/advances , monographs are written by emi nant scientists in a particular field of specialization. Some of the monographs available in the subject are :

31

W Patil and PSG Kumar

Oxford Monographs in Soil Survey

Brink (PBA) eta!. Soil survey for engineering. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1982. Hodgson (JM) . Soil sampling and soil description. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 197'8. Line" (KA) and Tedrow(JCF) . Soil and permafrost surveys in the arctic. Clarendon Press , Oxford, 1981 . Webster (R) . Quantitative and numerical methods in soil classification and soil survey. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1977 Western (S) . Soil survey contracts and quality control. Clarendon Press , Oxford, 1978. White (LP) . Aerial photography and remote sensing for soil survey. Clarendon Press , Oxford, 1977.

Idbooks

ICAR. Handbook of agriculture , ICAR , New Delhi, 1980. Clarkes , (R) ed. Handbook of ecological monitoring. Clarendon Press, Oxford; FA!. Handbook of Fert ilizer usage. FAI , New Delhi , 1977. Lide (DR), ed. Handbook of chemistry and physics , 72nd ed. CRC Press, Boca Raton; 1991.

r books

FAO Fertilizer yea r book FAO Production year book FAO State of Food and Agriculture India-A Reference Annual Manorama Year Book State of the World . Washington; World Watch Institute UNESCO Statistical Yearbook UNDP : World Resources USDA: Year book

:ionaries

Lozet (J) and Mathieu (C). Dictionary of Soil Science. 2nd rev. enl. ed . Oxford & IBH; New Delhi , 1991 . Somani (LL). Dictionary of agronomy, 4v. Mittal Publication , New Delhi , 1989. Somani (LL) . Dictionary of Soils , Fertilizers , 4v. Oxford & IBH, New De3lhi. 1989.

Whitten (DGA) and Brooks (KRVA). Dictionary of geology. Penguins Books . Middlesex

Glossaries

American Society of Soil Science. Glossary of Soi! Science ASSS , Madison; 1979. Jackson (BOA) . Glossary of botanical terms , 4th ed. Gerald Duckworth, London , 1971 . Mcintosh (DH) . comp o Meteorolo gical glossary. Chemical Publishing , New York , 1972. Stamp (D) and Clark (DNA). Glossary of geographical terms , 3rd ed. Longman , London, 1979.

Thesauri

CAB!. Thesaurus , 2v. CABI, Wallingford, 1995. Thesaurus of agricultural terms, 2nd ed. Oryex Press , 1978.

Encyclopedias

Arntz en (CJ). Encyclopedia of agricultural Sciences , 4v. Academic Press , San Diego; 1994. Fairbridge (RW)' ed . En cyc loped ia of geomorphology , Dowd en , Strond sburg ; Hutchinson & Ross, 1968. Fairbridge (RW) and Finkl (CW). Encyclopedia of Soil Science, 2v. Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross , Strondsburg ; 1981. Frye (K)' ed. Encyclopedia of Minera logy. Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Strondsburg , 1981 .

Secondary Sources

Bibliographies

CABI , U.K. Publishes bibliographies occas ionally, viz .

CAB!. Bibliography of Soil Science, fertilizers and general agronomy. 1947-50; 1953-56; and 1956-1959,

CABI. Solonetz soil s of th e wo rl d a bibliography, 1980.

FAO and CAB!. An annotated bibliography of ri ce soils and fertilizers. 1954.

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Other bibliographies related to soi l science are given below:

Bailey (GO). Bibliography on Soil taxonomy: 1969-1979. CABI , Wallingford; 1979.

Cmfts-Lighty (A) . Information sources in biotechnology , 2nd ed. Macmillan . Basingstoke; 1986.

ICAR. Indian National Agricultural Bibl iography : 1975-1984, 4V. ICAR, New Delhi ; 1987.

Lill ey (GP), ed . Information sources in agriculture and food science. Butterworth , London, 1981 .

Meidema( R) and Mermut (AR). Annotated bibliography on Soil Micromorphology and Micromor-pho metry : 1968-1986. CABI , Wallingford; 1989.

Orvedal (AC). Bibliography of Soils of the tropics , Vol5 : Tropics in general and Tropical Mainland Asia , Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan. USDA, Washington , D.C., 1983

Tandon (HL) . NPK in Indian agriculture : 1971-1975, New Delhi ; European Nitrogen Service Programme, New Delhi, 1978.

Willcocks (T J) and Browning (J). Vertisols (Black crackingclay) : abibliography with some abstracts, contentanalysis and comments . AFRC Institute of Engineering Research , Bedford, 1986.

Institute based documentation services, like:

Acces sion Bulletlin , NRI, Chatham. U. K.

Current Awareness Bulletin, NBSS & LUP, 1980+

Salinity Documentation Bulletin , CSSRI , 1979+

Indexing and Abstracting Services

Internationallevei

Vo14(i No 1 March 19l)L)

,

AGRINDEX, FAO, ROME, 1975 +

Bibliography of Agricultural , USDA, 1970 +

Current Contents-Agricu lture, biology and environment. Philadelphia , lSI , 1960 +

Field Crops Abstracts, CABI , U.K. 1947 +

Irrigation & Drainage Abstracts , CABI , U.K. 1980 +

Mineralogical Abstracts, Mineralogical Society, U.K. ; 1949

Soil Management Abstracts , IBSRAM, 1990-1993

Soils and Fertilizers , CABI , U.K . 1940 +

National level

Agricultural Research and Management Abstracts , NAARM

Indian Science Abstract, INSDOC

Indian Agricultural Abstracts, GBPUAT Paryavaran Abstracts , DOE.

Theses Abstracts , HAU .

Serial Holdings Catalogues

IAR!. Catalogues of Serials in IARI , 1967

INSDOC . National Union Catalogue of Scientific Serials 4V : New Delhi ; INSDOC

NBSSLUP. Serials Ho!ding List in the Library, Nagpur; NBSSLUP, 1996.

UNESCO. World Li st of Social Science Periodicals, 1986.

World List of Agricultural Serials-A Silver Platter Database

Directories

Agricultural Research Centres : a world

:n


directry of organisations and programmes, 2V. 8th ed. Longman; Harlow: 1986.

CABI. List of research Workers in agricultural scienc e in the Common -wealth . CABI; Wallingford, 1989.

Commonwealth Secretariat. Training for agricultural development: a directory of Commonwealth resources , 3rd ed. 1989.

IAALD. Agricultural Information Resources Centres: a world directory, 1990.

ICAR. Directory of Agricultural Research Scientists , 1978.

ICAR. Di rectory of AgriclJltural Research Workers in India 1986.

INSDOC. Science Information Services In

India, 1980

Non-Conventional Information Resources

The sources which are not normally available through regular trade channels are termed as non conventional lite rature which is available in a variety of forms, viz. reports of investigations , laboratary data , annual reports, official publications , soil survey reports , extension literature. conference/sy.mposia publications , dissertations/theses , patents , standards, etc . Some such literature available in soil sciences is given below:

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ICAR Institutes' publications in the form of research bulltins , technical bulletins, research highlights, etc. Annual reports of ICAR Institutes , Stat e Agricultural Universities. Soil Survey reports Agricultural/Census reports , Different Commissions reports ; Extention literature published by various agricultural and related organisations; Seminar/symposia proceedings; Th eses both at M.Sc and Ph .D . levels including project reports Statistical sources of information including:

Agricultural Statistics at a glance, Directorate

of Economics and Statistics (DES) Govt. of India, New Delhi. 1994; Area and Production of Crops in India, DES. GOI, New Delhi; Indian Agriculture in brief, 24th ed . DES, GOI , New Delhi . 1994; All India Report on agricultural census: 1980-81; 1990 - 91, GOI , New Delhi. Fertilizer Statistics , FAI , New Delhi Indian Agricultural Stat istics , V2 , GOI , New Delhi. Statistical outline of India, Tata Services Ltd ., Bombay. Statistical handbooks , statistical abstracts , agricultural statistical pocket books, etc . are publisred periodically by updating info rmation by various state departments of agriculture.

Maps/Atlases

NBSSLUP. Soil map of India ; Soil maps of different states of India on different scales: thematic/digitised maps atdistrict/tahsil/viliage level ;Agroecologica l regional andsubregionsof India; Soil degradation map of India. NATMO. Agricultural atlas of India; National Atlas of India, Atlas of Agricultura l resources of India Irrigation Atlas ; Forest resources Atlas ; IMD. Climatological atlas of India; Agroci imatic Atlas of India ; various states cl imate databooks; A Social and economic atlas of India. New Delhi ; OUP, 1987. Atlas of Agricultural Research and Training Centre of ICAR. ICAR, New Delhi 1984. Watershed Atlas of India. AISLUS , New Delhi

Various state level agricu ltural atlases like, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu , Kerala , Gujarat are also available covering information on regional interest.

International Maps/Atlases

Atlas of landforms . 3rd ed. New York; John Wiley, 1994 Bartholomow World At las. Leicester; Galley Press, 1986 Coll ins-Longman Atlas for Secondary Schools, Harlow; Longman Group, 1987. Collins-Images of the world; an atlas of satellite imagery and maps, 1984;

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LAND AND SOIL RESOURCES INFORMATION MA AGEMENT IN INDIA

Francis (P) and Jones (P) . Images of the earth. London: George Philip , 1984. Rand McNally's Universal World Atlas , 2nd ed. Ch icago Rand McNally, 1987. Reader's Digest Atlas of the world. New York; The Reader's Digest Association , 1986. Soil Maps of the world, VlO, FAO/UNESCO, 1974: Wo rld Map of th e human induced Soi l degradation. Wageningen; IS RIC, 1990 : UNEP World Atlas of Desertif ication. 1994.

Computersied Bibliographic Databases

Most of the international abstracting and indexing services have c reat ed mac hin e readable databases and can be accessed online for search and ret rival of information. The relevant databases of interest to soi l science are: CABI , AGRIS, AGRICOLA , TROPAG , BIOSIS and Chemical Abstracts . The main databases have gone into production of CD-ROMS published by Silver Platter and details of core databases are given below:

AGRICOLA

National Agricultural Library, USDA Time span covered 1970-Subjects covered Agriculture Searchable elements Descriptors Abstract Journal Bibliography of

Agricu lture Thesaurus AGROVOC

CABI

Commonwea lth Agricultural Bureaux International, Walling ford , U.K . Time spon covered

Subjects covered

Service

1973- (Prior to th is inprinted form)

Agricultural Science/ Technology Publications of various frequencies

Searchable elements Descriptors Abst ract Journal 26 different abst racting

journals Thesaurus CABI Thesaurus, 2V,

1995 ed. AGR IS

Vol 46 No I March 1l)l)L)

FAO of UN; AGRIS Coordinating Cent re, IAEA Vienna, Austria Time span covered Subjects

Service Elements Abstract Journal Thesaurus

1975-Agricultu ral Science/ Technology Monthly Searchable Descriptors AGRINDEX AGROVOC

INFORMATION SERVICES AND PRODUCTS

Having relevant collection development , and their organisation on modern lines, it is esential to gearup need based information services in order to keep informed scient ists and other user agencies about latest information received in the library through many outlets . At present , the following services are offered at NBSSLUP, viz .

* Current Awareness Service, Monthly, 1980 +; Current Titl es An nouncem ent Se rvice . Fortnightly, 1992 +; Serials Holding List, update every year; and Bureau's Publication List, update every year

User feedback is important to assess usefulness of any service and it can be improved as per users ' current information requirements . The current awareness service was evaluated by sending questionnaires to users and according ly many changes were incorporated in the bulletin reflecting current needs [14]. Th is se rvice has be en computerised since May 1990 and has developed an inhouse computerised bibliog raphic database called-ISSSLUP, Llsing Micro-computer Assisted Information Retrieval System (MCAIRS) software and more than 6000 items are held in the database [15 ,16].

SOIL SU HVEY PROGRAMMES AND DATA HANDLING ACTIVITIES IN INDIA

In the pers uit of scientific investigati ons and technological developments, data is an essential input. The mai n aspec ts relating to data dissemination services consist of providing users with the actual data together with information pert inent to those data which are going to be used for further invest igation in scientific research , ego

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formula , soil physico-chemical properties, and mineralogical data, etc. Everyday approach of research worker is b,sed on these types of data information (numerica l).

In the Indian context , soil resources data inventory forrn s th e basis for effective land use and management aspects . Soil scientists in the course of fi eld operations and research projects to coHect descriptive, observationai and experimental data on many soils , augment these with laboratory data and prepare technical reports together with variolJs maps for us e by planners for agricult ural development of the area.

In course of such stud ies, large volumes of data is generated and it becomes difficult to have access to requisite information during planning and development stages. For suitable storage and retrieval of data, computers are being extensively used for developing geographical information systems by taking various parameters of soil survey data and associated information thereby producing different thematic maps mearlt for use at different levels in agricultural development. At NBSS & LUP, modern technologies are used developing National Soil Resources Information System (NASRIC) in o rde r to meet various demands of soil survey products like digitised maps , soil database etc.

CODATA AND SOILS DATA

The Committee on Dat a for Science and Technology (CODATA) was established in 1966 under the auspices of Inte rnational Council of Scientific Uni ons (ICSU) to promote and encourage the production and distribution of critically evaluated and quantitatively expressed values , which are of importance to the growth of science and technology. The CODATA of ICSU is working together with UNESCO within its General Information Programme (UNI SIST) to update and expand inventory of data referral services in sc ienc e and technology and informati on organisation in developing countries .

The new edition of inventory of CODATA covers soil sciences including data on pedon, soil characterization , soi l mapping, soil interpretation, soil biochemistry, soil fertility, soi l physics, soil

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mineralogy and soil genesis, from both nat ional and international organisations .

CONCLUSIONS

With growth of R&D institutes in India and to manage information requirements , N ISSAT eme rged with a network of institutions with provision for new technological developments like on-line access and use of CD-ROMs.

In agricu ltural sector, an organised information system link is missing and conceptual plan for INISAS is proposed alongwith some prominent fields on which NICs and SICs could be established. As a representat ive NICs, ISSSLUP is mooted indicating a need to integrate existing faci lities in soi l science information handling at national level and its location at NBSSLUP. As a strong information base is a prerequisite , the deve lopme nt of resource base in the documentation centre is outlined including both conventional and non-conventional literatu re. The products and services are envisaged and present ones brought in the Bureau are indicated . The ava ilabl e computerised databases are briefed along with soil data handling activities in Ind ia.

REFERENCES

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2. Anonymous. Sectorial centres move fast into fast lane as NISSAT promotes new S & T information system. NISSA T Newsletter. 11 ; 1992 ; 12-22.

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4. Bose (B C). National Information System for Ag riculture. In : Advances in Libra ry and Information Science , vol. 2,ed by CD Sharma and DC Ojha, RBSA Publishers . Jaipur,1989, 1-8.

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5. Kumar (S M) . Indian National Agricultural Library System. a need of the hour. Timeless Fellowship. 4; 1977; 71-76.

6. Patil (Y M) . Land and soil resources information management in India . In : Advances in Library and Information Science. vo!'2 . ed. by CD Sharma and DC Ojha. RBSA Publishers , Jaipur. 1989, 59-73 .

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8. ICAR. Final Report in the ICAR Institutes and Agricultural Universities, prepared by the Indo - U.S.Agricultural Library Survey and Study Team for the Indian Council of Agricultural Research , New Delhi ; 1969; p182.

9. Ramachandra (H T) and Somasekar (K T) . Bibliographic organisation of literature in agricultural sciences. IAALD Quarterly Bullet in. 27; 1979 ; 24-33.

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11 . Manjunatha (K K) . Sources of agricultural information . Library Science with slant to Documentation. 28 ; 1991 ; 150-159.

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12. Patil (Y M) . Communication pattern in the Journal of Indian Society of Soil Science : a quantitative analysis . Library Science with slant to Documentation. 22; 1985; 230-236.

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14. Patil (Y M). Role of documentation in Soil Survey and Land Use Planning for agricultural development in India. In : All India Seminar on 'Agricultural Library and Information Services' APAU , Hyderabad . 28 Dec, 1980 - 1, Jan , 1981 . Paper 0: p1-20.

15. Patil (Y M) . Computer applications for library and informationwork at the Documentation Centre of NBSSLUP ( ICAR) .ln : Computerisation and Library Network , Seminar Papers .36th All India Library Conference, University of Jodhpur, Dec. 26-29 , 1990, ed by Vashisth, C.P, ILA; New Delhi ; ILA; 14-30.

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