Reference sources collection in university libraries of Karnataka: a study

93-99Studies the reference sources collection, i.e., handbooks & manuals, bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographies, directories, yearbooks & almanacs, geographical sources, indexing & abstracting sources in seven university libraries of Karnataka. Among seven universities included for the study, the Mangalore University Library has rich collection of reference sources. Among the reference collection, dictionaries and encyclopedias are more in number as against geographical sources of information and directories in university libraries. The study also gives a comparative analysis of reference collection in university libraries with its number of users. Finds that there is a need to strengthen the collection of almanacs, maps and atlases, gazetteers, indexing, abstracting and statistical sources in all the university libraries under study particularly, the handbooks and yearbooks collection in Bangalore University Library and statistical sources in Karnatak University Library. Almnacs and abstracting sources collection in Kannada University Library has to be initiated