Paper 2 · Library and Information Science · Code 59
UGC NET Library and Information Science (59)
Library and Information Science (subject code 59) is the subject paper (Paper 2) for candidates in this subject. It carries 100 questions for 200 marks (+2 per correct answer, no negative marking), attempted together with Paper 1 in the single 180-minute combined session. The syllabus below is the verified official syllabus, organised unit-wise; chapters and practice questions appear as they are published, and nothing is marked complete before it exists.
100 questions
200 marks · +2 per correct · No negative marking · Paper 2 within the 180-min combined session
10 units · 39 topics
Full syllabus below, with topic summaries
40 practice questions · 39 premium chapters
Easy 10 · Medium 20 · Hard 10 — all original practice; verified PYQs live separately in the PYQ Library
Syllabus
Complete syllabus — all units and topics
Topic summaries are the unit study material already published on NETSaathi. Weightage badges are platform estimates from past-question frequency — they are not NTA guarantees.
Unit 1: Information, Knowledge and Communication
सूचना, ज्ञान और संचार · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters- Data, information, knowledge, wisdom; information life cycle — Data, information, knowledge and wisdom; information life cycle: generation, collection, storage and dissemination.High weightage
- Role of information and information science — Role of information in planning, management, socio-economic, cultural, educational and technological development; information science: relationship with other subjects, information society and knowledge society.Medium
- Communication, information industry and IPR — Communication: concept, types, theories, models, channels and barriers; trends in scholarly communication; information industry: generators, providers, intermediaries; IPR and legal issues: categories, conventions, treaties, laws; plagiarism: concept and types.Medium
- RTI, IT Act and national initiatives — Right to Information Act (RTI); Information Technology Act; National Knowledge Commission; National Mission on Libraries.Medium
Data, information, knowledge, wisdom; information life cycle → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Role of information and information science → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Communication, information industry and IPR → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
RTI, IT Act and national initiatives → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Unit 2: Libraries, Profession and Information Literacy
पुस्तकालय, व्यवसाय और सूचना साक्षरता · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters- History of libraries and library legislation — Historical development of libraries in India; committees and commissions on libraries in India; types of libraries: academic, public, special, national; library legislation and library Acts in Indian states; Press and Registration of Books Act; Delivery of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act.High weightage
- Laws of library science and the profession — Laws of library science; library and information science profession: librarianship as a profession, professional skills and competences, professional ethics.High weightage
- Professional associations and LIS education — Professional associations: national (ILA, IASLIC, IATLIS) and international (IFLA, ALA, CILIP, ASLIB, SLA); role of UGC, RRRLF and UNESCO in promotion and development of libraries; library and information science education in India.Medium
- Users, extension and information literacy — Library public relations and extension activities; types of users, user studies, user education; information literacy: areas, standards, types and models; trends in information literacy.Medium
History of libraries and library legislation → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Laws of library science and the profession → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Professional associations and LIS education → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Users, extension and information literacy → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Unit 3: Information Sources
सूचना स्रोत · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters- Information sources: nature and types — Information sources: nature, characteristics, types and formats; primary, secondary and tertiary sources; documentary and non-documentary sources.High weightage
- Primary and secondary sources — Primary sources (print and electronic): journals, conference proceedings, patents, standards, theses and dissertations, trade literature; secondary sources (print and electronic): dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies, indexing and abstracting, statistical sources, handbooks and manuals.High weightage
- Tertiary and reference sources — Tertiary sources (print and electronic): directories, year books, almanacs; reference sources: bibliographical, biographical, educational, language and geographical.Medium
- Electronic resources and evaluation — Electronic information resources: subject gateways, web portals, bulletin boards, discussion forums/groups; databases: bibliographic, numeric, full text, multimedia, open access; institutional and human resources; evaluation of reference sources and web resources.Medium
Information sources: nature and types → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Primary and secondary sources → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Tertiary and reference sources → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Electronic resources and evaluation → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Unit 4: Information Services and Networks
सूचना सेवाएँ और नेटवर्क · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters- Community and reference services — Community information services; reference service: concept and types; referral services.High weightage
- Alerting and mobile-based services — Alerting services: CAS, SDI, inter-library loan and document delivery; mobile-based library services and tools: mobile OPAC, mobile databases, mobile library website, library apps, mobile library instructions, augmented reality, SMS alerts, geo-location, reference enquiry.Medium
- Web 2.0/3.0 and collaborative services — Web 2.0 and 3.0, Library 2.0: concept, characteristics, components; instant messaging, RSS feeds, podcasts, vodcasts, Ask a Librarian; collaborative services: social networks, academic social networks, social tagging, social bookmarking; web-scale discovery services.Medium
- Information systems, networks and consortia — National systems and networks: NISCAIR, DESIDOC, SENDOC, ENVIS, INFLIBNET, DELNET, NICNET, ERNET, National Knowledge Network (NKN), Biotechnology Information System Network; international systems: INIS, AGRIS, INSPEC, MEDLARS, BIOSIS, ERIC, Patent Information System (PIS), Biotechnology Information System (BIS); library resource sharing and library consortia, national and international.High weightage
Community and reference services → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Alerting and mobile-based services → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Web 2.0/3.0 and collaborative services → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Information systems, networks and consortia → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Unit 5: Knowledge Organisation
ज्ञान संगठन · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters- Universe of knowledge — Universe of knowledge: nature and attributes; modes of formation of subjects.Medium
- Classification — Knowledge organisation: classification — theories, canons and principles; Simple Knowledge Organisation System (SKOS), taxonomies, folksonomy, trends in classification; mapping of subjects in library classification schemes: DDC, UDC, CC.High weightage
- Cataloguing and bibliographic standards — Cataloguing: canons and principles; centralised and co-operative catalogue; library cataloguing codes: CCC and AACR-II; standards of bibliographic record formats and description: ISBD, MARC 21, CCF, RDA, FRBR, Bibframe; standards for bibliographic information interchange and communication: ISO 2709, Z39.50, Z39.71.High weightage
- Metadata, indexing and retrieval — Metadata standards: Dublin Core, MARC21, METS, MODS, EAD; indexing systems and techniques: assigned (pre-coordinate, post-coordinate), derived (title-based), vocabulary control; abstracting: types and guidelines; information retrieval system: features, components, models and evaluation.Medium
Universe of knowledge → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Classification → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Cataloguing and bibliographic standards → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Metadata, indexing and retrieval → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Unit 6: Management of Libraries and Information Centres
पुस्तकालयों और सूचना केंद्रों का प्रबंधन · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters- Management principles and schools — Management: principles, functions and schools of thought.High weightage
- Library operations and preservation — Library and information centres management: book selection tools and principles; acquisition, technical processing, circulation, serial control, maintenance and stock verification; preservation and conservation; hazards and control measures of library materials.High weightage
- Human resource and financial management — Human resource management: planning, job analysis, job description, job evaluation, selection, recruitment, motivation, training and development, performance appraisal, staff manual; financial management: sources of finance, resource mobilisation, budgeting methods, cost-effective and cost-benefit analysis, annual reports and statistics, library authority and committee.Medium
- Project, quality, buildings and knowledge management — Project management: SWOT, PEST, PERT/CPM; total quality management (TQM): concepts, principles, techniques, six sigma; evaluation of services; library building, furniture and equipment; green library building; information commons; makerspace; security and safety; management information system (MIS), MBO, change, disaster and crisis management; knowledge management: principles, tools, components, architecture; marketing of library products and services: plan, research, strategies, mix, segmentation, pricing, advertising; management consultancy.Medium
Management principles and schools → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Library operations and preservation → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Human resource and financial management → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Project, quality, buildings and knowledge management → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Unit 7: Information Technology and Communication
सूचना प्रौद्योगिकी और संचार · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters- Computer and telecommunication technology — Computer technology: character representation (ASCII, ISCII, Unicode); hardware, software; storage, input and output devices; types of software: system, application; programming languages: object-oriented, procedural, high-level, scripting, web languages; telecommunication: transmission channels, mode and media, ISDN, PSDN, multiplexing, modulation, standards and protocols.High weightage
- Wireless communication and networks — Wireless communication: media, Wi-Fi, Li-Fi, satellite communication, mobile communication; computer networks: topologies, types (LAN, MAN, WAN).Medium
- Internet and protocols — Internet: web browsers, WWW, e-mail, search engines, meta and entity search engines; internet protocols and standards: HTTP, SHTTP, FTP, SMTP, TCP/IP, URI, URL.High weightage
- Hypermedia and security — Hypertext, hypermedia, multimedia, video conferencing, virtual reality, augmented technologies; data security, network security, firewalls, cryptographic techniques, anti-virus software, anti-spyware, intrusion detection system.Medium
Computer and telecommunication technology → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Wireless communication and networks → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Internet and protocols → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Hypermedia and security → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Unit 8: Library Automation and Digital Libraries
पुस्तकालय स्वचालन और डिजिटल पुस्तकालय · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters- Library automation and digitization — Library automation: areas, planning, selection of hardware and software, implementation and evaluation, standards; barcode, RFID, QR code, biometric, smartcard: features and applications; digitization: planning, selection of materials, hardware, software, process, issues.High weightage
- Digital libraries and preservation — Digital library: genesis, characteristics, types, architecture; standards, formats and protocols, DOI; digital preservation: need, purpose, standards, methods, techniques, projects (national and international).High weightage
- Digital initiatives and institutional repositories — Digital library initiatives: national and international; institutional repositories: need, purpose, types and tools; institutional repositories in India; ROAR, DOAR, SHERPA-RoMEO.Medium
- Content management, AI and semantic web — Content management systems: architecture, data integration, CMS software selection, implementation and evaluation; application of artificial intelligence, expert systems and robotics in libraries; social-mobile-analytics-cloud (SMAC); cloud computing; ontology tools (RDF, RDFS, Protege); semantic web, linked data, big data, data mining, data harvesting.Medium
Library automation and digitization → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Digital libraries and preservation → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Digital initiatives and institutional repositories → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Content management, AI and semantic web → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Unit 9: Research in Library and Information Science
पुस्तकालय और सूचना विज्ञान में शोध · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters- Research: concept, purpose and methods — Research: concept, purpose, functions, scope and ethics; types: basic and applied, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary; research methods: historical, descriptive, experimental and Delphi.High weightage
- Research design and data collection — Research design: selection of research problem, review of literature, formulation of research problem, hypothesis: formulation, types and testing, sampling techniques; methods of data collection: questionnaire, interview, observation, library records, scales and checklist.High weightage
- Data analysis and statistical packages — Data analysis and interpretation: presentation of data, statistical methods/techniques; statistical packages: spreadsheet, SPSS, Bibexcel, ‘R’ statistics.Medium
- Report writing and metric studies — Research report writing and citation tools: structure, style, contents, guidelines, style manuals, online citation tools, reference style management tools, anti-plagiarism tools, evaluation of research report; metric studies: bibliometrics, scientometrics, webometrics, altmetrics; impact factors (journal, institutional, authors), h-index, g-index, i10 index; trends in library and information science research.Medium
Research: concept, purpose and methods → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Research design and data collection → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Data analysis and statistical packages → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Report writing and metric studies → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Unit 10: Library and Information Systems by Sector
क्षेत्रवार पुस्तकालय और सूचना प्रणालियाँ · 4 bank questions · 3 premium chapters- Sector library and information systems — Academic, public, special, health science, corporate, agricultural, and engineering and technological library and information systems.High weightage
- Archives, museums and community systems — Archives, museums and oriental libraries; community information system.Medium
- Services for special user groups — Information services and systems for persons with disability, children and women.Medium
Sector library and information systems → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Archives, museums and community systems → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Services for special user groups → premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min
Study material
Free sample material
Data, information, knowledge, wisdom; information life cycle
Premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min · Unit 1
Read free previewRole of information and information science
Premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min · Unit 1
Read free previewCommunication, information industry and IPR
Premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min · Unit 1
Read free previewRTI, IT Act and national initiatives
Premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min · Unit 1
Read free previewHistory of libraries and library legislation
Premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min · Unit 2
Read free previewLaws of library science and the profession
Premium chapter · free preview · ~12 min · Unit 2
Read free previewPremium detailed material — preview
Premium chapters are published for this subject: 39 topic chapters, each with a free preview; the full chapter, diagrams, worked problems and practice questions unlock with Premium.
Library and Information Science Test Series — ₹499 ₹999 · Unlocks all premium chapters (Library and Information Science) for 365 days
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Sample MCQs from the real bank
These are original practice questions with original explanations — not official NTA questions. The full bank for this subject holds 40 questions.
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Unit-wise tests
Full mock — not published yet
A 100-question full mock needs a much larger bank than the 40 questions published for this subject today, so no full mock is linked here. Unit tests above are available wherever bank questions exist. The combined 150-question mock covers Paper 1 + CS only.
Premium question bank — preview
Premium will add difficulty-wise sets, numerical and analytical sets where the syllabus needs them, and full detailed solutions for every question. The 40 questions above are the free bank available today; premium sets are not published yet, so nothing here is locked that you already need.
Previous year questions
PYQ section
Verified official PYQs — see the live count
A question is only listed as an official PYQ when its original paper and final answer key have been verified. The PYQ Library shows the live published count and the papers themselves — open it to see what is verified for this subject. Until then, nothing here is presented as an official NTA paper, and no year or session is attached to any practice question. NetSaathi is not affiliated with NTA/UGC.
Open PYQ pageStrategy
Preparation strategy for this subject
- Start with the high-weightage topics — Data, information, knowledge, wisdom; information life cycle, History of libraries and library legislation, Laws of library science and the profession, Information sources: nature and types, Primary and secondary sources — and finish their chapter previews first.
- Read one unit, then test it the same day: each unit page ends with its own unit test, so gaps show up while the material is fresh.
- Use the unit-wise result report: after every test, revise the units where accuracy is lowest before starting a new unit.
- Attempt every question in mocks: there is no negative marking, so an unattempted question is a guaranteed zero.
- Finish with unit tests: take every available unit test under timed conditions; full mocks for this subject arrive once the bank is large enough for a 100-question paper.
Revision
Important topics & revision resources
Important topics (high weightage)
- Unit 1: Data, information, knowledge, wisdom; information life cycle
- Unit 2: History of libraries and library legislation
- Unit 2: Laws of library science and the profession
- Unit 3: Information sources: nature and types
- Unit 3: Primary and secondary sources
- Unit 4: Community and reference services
- Unit 4: Information systems, networks and consortia
- Unit 5: Classification
- Unit 5: Cataloguing and bibliographic standards
- Unit 6: Management principles and schools
- Unit 6: Library operations and preservation
- Unit 7: Computer and telecommunication technology
- Unit 7: Internet and protocols
- Unit 8: Library automation and digitization
- Unit 8: Digital libraries and preservation
- Unit 9: Research: concept, purpose and methods
- Unit 9: Research design and data collection
- Unit 10: Sector library and information systems
Revision resources
- Premium chapters (39) → free previews; full chapters unlock with Premium.
- Study planner → plan revision around the exam countdown.