The characteristics of literature generally include: knowledge, record and materiality. The so-called literature, at first, refers to historical classics, and later refers to all written materials that record information in society; Then, with the rapid development of modern information technology, people refer to all kinds of knowledge and information recorded by various material carriers as files.

Extended content: There are many kinds of documents. After subdivision, different documents also have more detailed and independent characteristics, such as: 1. The characteristics of books and documents are: the content is systematic, mature and stereotyped, and the information is screened and reliable. 2. The characteristics of periodical literature are profound, reliable, detailed, rich in information, large in quantity and variety, and short in publishing cycle, which can timely reflect the latest dynamic information in related fields.

3. Characteristics of patent documents: the contents are specific, reliable, detailed, novel, creative and practical, and can reflect the latest scientific and technological level. 4. Characteristics of government publications: strong policy, comprehensiveness and guidance. 5. Characteristics of dissertations: small circulation range, uneven quality and relatively difficult to obtain.