bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE OPTIMUM USE OF STAFF IN THE SMALL LIBRARY
Authors: VICKERY B.C.
Published: February 2008

The ideal aim of library service is to be able to give each user just those books he needs at the very moment he needs them. With many special libraries, the service goes beyond books: the aim is to provide actual items of information in the same manner. The intention of this paper is to consider how to choose, use and fit the staff of a small library to do these jobs.
THE MEDIUM LIBRARY
Authors: HANSON C.W.
Published: February 2008

In an organization of medium size (say 6–10 people) the staff can reasonably include at least one qualified librarian and one person with subject qualifications. This makes possible a division of work into two broad types: library work; and technical enquiry work. Further sub‐division is possible and usually desirable, the ideal being that each person should be a specialist in one job (or group of jobs) and responsible for it, but capable of doing also (during holiday periods, etc.) at least one other person's work.
INTRODUCTION
Authors: Ditmas E.M.R.
Published: February 2008

This issue of Aslib Proceedings contains papers given at Branch meetings in 1951, two items under ‘Members' Forum’, and a number of reports from other organizations with which Aslib has had close association.
SEARCHING CLASSIFIED PATENT SPECIFICATIONS
Authors: BENNETT E.M.
Published: February 2008

It has been a great pleasure to have listened to Mr. Mathys' most interesting paper on the patent specification as a source of information, and I have the added pleasure of having been asked by Mr. Mathys to explain how a seeker after information contained in English patent specifications can track down the specifications he wishes to read. Mr. Mathys suggested that I should explain some of the principles of the Patent Office classification and some of the practical results obtained. However, I propose to alter to some extent this logical order of presentation. After reviewing three lines of attack for locating a specification, I shall briefly review the historical development of the Classification key, that is the book in which the scheme of classification is disclosed, then I will show how a hypothetical Mr. X can locate specifications that disclose inventions relating to frying‐pans, and finally I will give a short resume of the principles underlying the scheme of and method of classifying patent specifications. I have adopted this inverted form of presentation because more people wish to use a classification system to find some specific item, than wish to study such a system as an abstract entity. No difficulty arises for a person who knows the patent number of a particular specification he wishes to read. He merely enters the Patent Office Library or one of the several provincial libraries that are supplied with copies of specifications, and quickly finds what he wants amidst an orderly numbered sequence. Alternatively, he can send 2s. 8d. to the Sale Branch of the Patent Office and obtain a copy by post.
INFORMATION AND INDUSTRY: A GENERAL SURVEY
Authors: EGERTON ALFRED
Published: February 2008

In an address given three years before the war on ‘Applied Science’, I seem to have remarked that, ‘The last forty years has seen an immense change: an immense change, too, of outlook. To me it has seemed as if the change came gradually and then the rate of change got more and more rapid and during the last year or two the change has been permanently effected and we have toppled over into a new era.’ The topple over was indeed a deeper topple than even some of us then expected. I think all would agree, however, that there is a tremendous change in outlook. We are far more conscious, and getting more and more conscious, of the material factors, the economic factors, which influence Man's activities, far more conscious of the influence of scientific research and technological developments than we were fifteen or twenty years ago. It is this very consciousness which creates its own difficulties. It is known that if certain changes are made, they will cause other changes; and that if the information is available those changes can be predicted. Therefore, we are loathe to make the change till the information is gathered. If we do not take trouble to get the information, we should blame ourselves or perhaps be blamed. We are all far more closely knit up, far more conscious of our actions. In drawing upon the ocean of knowledge, however, its vastness tends to overwhelm us.
THE WORKING OF AN INDUSTRIAL LIBRARY
Authors: DAVISON GEO. H.
Published: February 2008

In preparing this short paper, I have deliberately compared the working of an industrial library with that of a public library rather than with the library of a Government Department, because any small differences which exist are less marked in the case of comparison with the latter. I hope, however, that none of my public library friends will interpret this as in any way belittling the fine service which we have come to expect from them.
SIGNPOSTS: SOME SELECTIONS FROM THE 1952 SPECIAL LIBRARY LITERATURE
Authors: BIRD J. , DITMAS E.M.R.
Published: February 2008

This paper is the first of what is intended to be an annual survey of the literature of documentation, covering both special librarianship and information work. Its aim is to select from the year's publications, whether books, pamphlets, periodical articles or any of the other miscellaneous items which form an important part of the stock of special libraries, those which are most likely to be of practical value in day‐to‐day work. It is designed specifically to help personnel in small libraries, and is directed particularly towards those who have not yet completed their library training or, in the case of information officers, those who have not yet had much experience.
PERIODICAL SETS: WHAT SHOULD YOU BUY?
Authors: VICKERY B.C.
Published: February 2008

When I consider the World list of scientific periodicals, or the array of slips which we hope will one day be published as the British union catalogue of periodicals, and then turn to look at the few journals on my library shelves, I feel rather as Newton did: like a child, playing with a few pebbles on the sea‐shore, while the vast ocean of truth lies all undiscovered before me.
THE USE OF CONTINUOUS‐FORM STATIONERY FOR LIBRARY LOAN RECORDS
Authors: GAUNTLETT MARGARET D.
Published: February 2008

For the past five years loans from the Kodak Research Library have been recorded on continuous‐form stationery, the use of which has become an accepted part of the library routine. During this time visiting librarians have often shown an interest in the equipment and a number of other special libraries have adopted it. Some account of our experience may therefore be of wider interest.
A SCHEME FOR CIRCULATING PERIODICALS
Authors: MURCH E.H. , HEWETSON C.E.C.
Published: February 2008

The scheme about to be described handles the circulation of 200–300 periodical titles to 100 readers, most of whom are housed in one building.
A SYSTEMATIC ‘LINE FORMULA’ CHEMICAL NOTATION
Authors: WISWESSER WILLIAM J.
Published: February 2008

Technical librarians scarcely need to be reminded of the growing crisis in the field of chemical literature—the problem of efficiently retrieving facts about chemicals from the 1,200,000 technical and scientific articles that have been abstracted during the past fifty years, and the problem of finding sufficient shelf space for the rapidly increasing weekly and monthly additions in the 5,236 periodicals that are recognized as references by the chemical societies.
CONFERENCE OF THE SCOTTISH BRANCH: OPENING ADDRESS
Authors: MCCANCE ANDREW
Published: February 2008

I am glad to attend this Conference this morning, even if my only function is to wish you success in the work which you are doing and to give you sympathetic support and encouragement in the expansion of your activities.
SCOTTISH RESOURCES OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL LITERATURE AND INFORMATION AND THE NEED FOR MORE SYSTEMATIC ORGANIZATION
Authors: POTTINGER M.C.
Published: February 2008

This paper this morning cannot pretend to be more than a brief and necessarily sketchy survey of the subject. Indeed, I hope that what I say will have the effect of underlining the need for (1) a more detailed and systematic survey of the field, and (2) a more effective co‐ordination of these resources.
THE SCOTTISH COUNCIL AND ITS WORK
Authors: MACRAE C.
Published: February 2008

I am confronted with what is really an impossible task. I have been asked to tell you about the Scottish Council, but even if I had as many hours at my disposal as I have minutes it would still be difficult to tell you all there is to tell about this unique and well‐doing body whose servant I have the honour to be. In the half‐hour at my disposal I can only touch in the briefest outline upon a few of the main features of the nature and work of the Council.
SERVICE DE DOCUMENTATION ET D'INFORMATION TECHNIQUE
Authors: FRENOT G.
Published: February 2008

A survey of the different questions considered during the joint meeting of the Aslib Aeronautical Group and Royal Aeronautical Society on Documentation, held on 7th February, at the Institution of Civil Engineers, shows that the following main points were raised by the representatives of the Official Departments, Research Offices and Libraries who attended the conference.
SOME PROBLEMS OF COMMUNICATION
Authors: WOOTTON BARBARA
Published: February 2008

I should like to open these proceedings by expressing my appreciation of the honour conferred upon me by Aslib in the invitation to become their President. The Presidents of Aslib have been a very distinguished company, in which I am indeed proud to find myself. My remarks this evening will be concerned with some of the difficulties which obstruct communication between one human being and another. May I begin by expressing the hope that, whatever may be the fate of the rest of this address, these sentiments at least will be successfully communicated from speaker to audience?
THE TRAINING OF SPECIAL LIBRARIANS IN THE UNITED STATES
Authors: LANCOUR HAROLD
Published: February 2008

There has been a good deal of grumbling going on in my country at the way in which librarians are trained for their profession. No one seems to be satisfied with the current state of affairs but of all the unhappy groups none speak with greater vehemence nor more fervidly than the special librarians. ‘If other professions,’ says a prominent music librarian, ‘ran their educational systems with no more regard for specialization than librarianship does, one shudders to think of the state our society would be in.’
SPECIAL LIBRARY TRAINING AS IT IS IN THE NETHERLANDS TO‐DAY
Authors: VAN DIJK DRS. C.
Published: February 2008

In order to gain a thorough understanding of the aims of special library training in the Netherlands as designed after the second world war, it is first of all necessary to obtain some idea of the special library situation in that country.
ADMINISTRATION PROBLEMS OF A SPECIAL LIBRARY
Authors: OLDAKER L.T.
Published: February 2008

The problems of an information service or special library discussed are those of staffing. The problems are greater because a solution in one organization is seldom applicable in another. This difficulty in arriving at a common solution arises not so much from the extremely varied activities of many information services, but rather from the infinitely varied nature of the organizations of which they form part. These variations are in several dimensions—in size, in subjects covered, in the organizational structure of the undertaking, and the status of the information officer within the organization itself vis‐à‐vis his administra‐tive, technical, and commercial colleagues. These variations are so considerable, yet at the same time so indeterminate, that the information services themselves frequently defy comparison. Their staffing problems, unless considered individually, become major problems. For these reasons this paper attempts to survey only certain facets of the problem, and its scope has been restricted so as to exclude all but the larger industrial libraries. At the same time, it is hoped that the paper will have some bearing on related problems in other types of libraries.
FILING AND STORAGE OF REPORTS
Authors: WALKINS P.S.
Published: February 2008

In introducing this paper I am assuming that you appreciate what a report is, the sources and acquisition thereof and also that you understand there are no short cuts in dealing with the problems raised. The previous speakers will have ‘put you wise’ on these points. Therefore this paper is probably the easiest of the four. This is because we need discuss only ways and means of having our material available so that it can be put into our readers' hands with as little difficulty, quickly and as completely as possible. Incidentally the conclusions at which I arrive are based on my own experience with the methods used at the B.E.A. Head Office library.
EXPLOITING REPORT LITERATURE
Authors: WRIGHT R.C.
Published: February 2008

Exploitation is a word which has only one meaning, but its connotation may not be quite the same for the trades union leader as it is for the tactician. To the librarian it has for some years meant getting the utmost value from a book stock limited by a rigid book fund. Having spent valuable staff time and money in selecting the book and putting it through ordering, accessioning, classification and cataloguing processes, he wants it to reach as many as possible of those able to profit from it. To achieve this, he indulges in publicity of various sorts—library bulletins and accessions lists, specially prepared booklists on individual subjects, displays of new books and of material of topical interest, and so on.
WHY B.I.S.R.A. HAS ADOPTED THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR METALS/SPECIAL LIBRARIES ASSOCIATION (ASM/SLA) METALLURGICAL LITERATURE CLASSIFICATION
Authors: COLINESE P.E.
Published: February 2008

At six‐weekly intervals The British Iron and Steel Research Association issues a Report List containing abstracts of and references to its research reports. One list may contain between 25 and 50 abstracts. A classification system for these references is very necessary for the Association's Information Section. The system that has been used for the past seven years consists of a subject and author index and has grown and been amended so often that it has gradually become more unworkable as the diversity of our research work has increased.
SYMPOSIUM ON THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF FUEL AND POWER LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Authors: Hickman Frank
Published: February 2008

The period available at the conference for the discussion of the Fuel and Power Group's Symposium proved far too short for conclusive debating of the many ideas and opinions expressed. Generally, it was agreed that the Symposium was practical and revealing and formed an excellent basis on which to build a truly representative and informative guide to the Fuel and Power documentary services in the United Kingdom. Such a guide, or review of resources of organizations within the ambit of the Aslib Fuel and Power Group, was recommended for investigation by the Group Committee, which might give consideration to arrangement under (a) organizations predominantly concerned with fuel and power, and (b) organizations concerned incidentally with fuel and power. This recommendation emerged from discussion of a viewpoint that a clear definition of fuel and power was essential to practical limitation of the Group's membership and area of activity. Mr. V. Biske proposed that a suitable working definition might be taken from Article 1 of The census of production (1954) (Returns and Exempted Persons) Order, 1953. (S.I. 1953, No. 939):
SIGNPOSTS: SOME SELECTIONS FROM The 1953 SPECIAL LIBRARY LITERATURE
Authors: BIRD J.
Published: February 2008

The aims of this annual review of the literature were set out at some length in the first article in the series (Aslib Proceedings, vol. 5, no. 1, February 1953, pp. 27–39), but for the benefit of those who have not seen that paper, and also for others who might like to be reminded of the limitations of the series, it is proposed to recapitulate briefly the main points. This series is intended to assist those who need some guidance in selecting from the mass of literature now being published on librarianship and documentation those items most likely to be of assistance in planning and organizing their own work. It is particularly designed for the relatively inexperienced worker, whether special librarian or information officer, working in a small organization without the assistance of more experienced colleagues. Consequently, all theoretical discussions, however important, have been ignored unless it has been felt that they can be of practical assistance in solving day‐to‐day library problems, and descriptions of the practice of large general libraries have been omitted unless it appears that they are capable of adaptation to other conditions. Moreover, since the series is not intended to be used as a bibliographical tool (this purpose being adequately served by existing bibliographies) but as a guide to current reading, no attempt has been made to restrict the list to work actually published during the year under review, but it is hoped that the list is representative of items likely to have been received in British libraries during 1953. Every endeavour has been made, however, to see that the articles in the series shall between them cover the whole of the literature adequately and that no important items are missed.
SOURCES OF RUSSIAN ECONOMIC INFORMATION
Authors: RUSSELL BAKER G.
Published: February 2008

The task of summarizing the possible approaches to the gathering of factual material on modern Soviet economic problems is no light one, since the sources which must be covered are most diverse. Necessary information on almost any topic may be found scattered in a multitude of often rather unlikely books and papers, and it may be the case that key data are found to be altogether unobtainable by the researcher.
AERONAUTICAL LIBRARIES—SAMPLE SURVEY
Authors: WALKINS P.S.
Published: February 2008

As a result of certain difficulties, the British European Airways library service was recently faced with economies which not only affected future growth but also the day‐to‐day work.
PATENT REVIEWS, PATENT ABSTRACTS
Authors: JACOBSOHN W.
Published: February 2008

I much has been written about the necessary dissemination of knowledge and the part ‘abstracts’ have to play in the field of science. Yet one particular application has always been treated rather casually, the abstracting of patent specifications, although much up‐to‐date information found nowhere else can be obtained from these publications.
II. WHAT The EMPLOYER NEEDS FROM The INFORMATION OFFICER
Authors: LODGE R.M.
Published: February 2008

This extract from a recent Lancet was, suitably enough, provided for me by my own Company's Information Officer. He is not, in consequence a paragon; he is just doing his job. We have evolved a modus vivendi which is both congenial and fruitful.
EQUIPMENT OF CURRENT INTEREST TO INFORMATION WORKERS
Authors: ANTHONY L.J.
Published: February 2008

After a short introduction, the speaker referred to equipment in the exhibition.
MICROFILMING—The SITUATION TO‐DAY
Authors: Cain Arthur
Published: February 2008

My title is ‘Microfilming—the situation to‐day’, with ‘situation’ meaning, in the Oxford English Dictionary manner, ‘the ways things stand at a particular moment’.
MEMBERS' FORUM STANDARDS IN DOCUMENTATION
Authors: Lloyd G.A.
Published: February 2008

Progress in international standardization work in the field of documentation has been steady, if not spectacular. Since the war, there have been five meetings of Technical Committee 46 (Documentation) of the International Organization for Standardization—The Hague (1948), Ascona (1950), Rome (1951), Copenhagen (1952) and Brussels (1954)—but much of the real work has been done by correspondence and in special meetings of working parties.
The TRANSLATION OF SCIENTIFIC MATERIAL—A SYMPOSIUM
Authors: THORNTON H. , THOMPSON ANTHONY , MACKIEWICZ ELIZABETH , GORTON V.J.
Published: February 2008

The Chairman, Mr. E. B. Uvarov, Head of the Technical Information Bureau of Courtaulds, Ltd., Coventry, introduced the first speaker, Miss H. Thornton, of T.M.M. (Research), Ltd. He said that she was a welcome newcomer to the ranks of Aslib speakers, but no stranger to the members of the Aslib Textile Group, who knew her as the Group's very efficient and persistent Secretary, who prodded them into activity with skill and tact, and with a great measure of success. One of the more valuable results of such activity was the Group's work on translations, which present rather special problems in the textile field. The Chairman then invited Miss Thornton to speak on this subject.
METHODS OF PREPARING ECONOMIC INFORMATION BULLETINS
Authors: CHEVIS A.H. , DAVIES WILLIAM
Published: February 2008

In introducing Miss Chevis (of Richard Thomas & Baldwins, Ltd.), Mr. Davies (of Westminster Bank Economic Intelligence Department) said that their two approaches to the subject were rather different.
MEMBERS' FORUM
Authors: BIRD J.
Published: February 2008

Contrary to what might be expected from the rather pessimistic view of library literature taken in another paper in this issue, the production of this annual review of the literature intended for special librarians becomes progressively more difficult, owing to the growth in the volume of the material from which the selection must be made. The aim of this survey has always been to pick out from the literature generally available in Great Britain in the year in question those items likely to be of practical assistance to library and information workers—particularly those with little experience or training working in small libraries. It therefore lists important reference works and tools which the special librarian ought to know about, even if he doesn't possess them, but omits all articles of purely theoretical interest, and those which describe practice in large libraries, except where they are capable of application in small libraries. Much of the increase in the volume of literature is due to an increase in the number of works of reference, many produced under the encouragement of bodies such as Unesco, but there is also a definite tendency for a closer link between theory and practice in much of the writing on library work. In these circumstances, the selection of a list of a hundred items becomes more than ever a matter of personal judgment, on which no two persons could be expected to agree, but it is hoped that all items included will prove useful, and that all sections of the field are fairly represented.
SUBJECT ANALYSIS IN EIGHTY‐ONE CONCEPTS
Authors: BRISCH E.G.
Published: February 2008

At the Royal Society's Scientific Information Conference in 1948 I presented a method of multilateral classification based on an analysis of compound concepts into their constituents and the subsequent synthesis of these constituents, taking as an example the Universal Decimal Classification notation.
INTRODUCTION
Authors: DITMAS E.M.R.
Published: February 2008

The Thirtieth Aslib Annual Conference was held at the Norbreck Hydro, Blackpool, from 23rd to 26th September, 1955, and proved to be as enjoyable as any in previous years although, as was to be expected, the number of those attending was somewhat lower than last year, when the Conference took place in London.
INFORMATION AND EFFICIENCY
Authors: STREAT RAYMOND
Published: February 2008

Everybody agrees that we in Britain must have constantly rising levels of industrial efficiency—operating efficiency, development efficiency, selling efficiency. Otherwise our small islands cannot maintain the people who inhabit them; our people cannot continue to constitute a great nation; our sons and grandsons will not receive in their turn the heritage of opportunity which we received; the unique contribution to civilization which Britain has been making for hundreds of years, by her practical demonstration of a sound and fruitful philosophy of politics, sociology and morals, will cease to be made.
The FILM AS SOURCE MATERIAL FOR HISTORY
Authors: ELTON ARTHUR
Published: February 2008

The film approach to history in this paper I want to consider the film as source material for history in the sense that palimpsest and parchment, hieroglyph and rune, clay tablet and manorial roll are source materials—fragments, sometimes fragments of fragments, often defaced by time, and applied to purposes of historical reconstruction rarely contemplated by the original authors. For the most part I shall not be particularly concerned with the various philosophies of history—whether it is the job of the historian to lay material dispassionately before the student so that he can make up his own mind about what happened in the past, or to digest source material in order to arrive at the truth—that is, what the historian may hope is the whole incontrovertible real truth, or to digest source material, as Macaulay and Carlyle digested it, in order to justify something in contemporary life or thought. All that need be said here for the moment is that films can be used, as other historical source material can be used, for various and different historical purposes.
BINDING FOR The PUBLISHER
Authors: JONES D.W.
Published: February 2008

It is not often that a bookbinder has the opportunity of meeting his consumer public, and I am therefore grateful to your Committee for asking me to speak to you today on binding for the publisher. I hope you will find my talk interesting if a little technical.
LIBRARY BINDING
Authors: CAWTHORNE T.A.
Published: February 2008

It is an accepted opening for a speaker to begin by defining the subject of his talk. My concern, however, is not with a definition of library binding but with the approach to this subject which I have been prompted to take in my address to you this afternoon.
SOME OBSERVATIONS ON The USE OF PUNCHED CARDS FOR A PERSONAL INFORMATION FILE
Authors: SOPER ALAN K.
Published: February 2008

Although personal information files must seem small fry alongside the large information centres, the accumulated frustration and waste of time associated with them must, on account of their very great number, far outweigh that found in the larger centres. For this reason, it is suggested that greater attention might be given to the problems of the small file user by the professional information officer. With this in view it was thought desirable to give an account of one such small file, the problems associated with it and the attempts at solving these problems. The file to be described is one containing a very wide and diverse range of subjects—chemistry, physics, economics, mathematics, logic, etc.—such as is required for use by a worker in applied science. It is this very width of interest which creates the major problems in setting up and operating such a file.
D.S.I.R. AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Authors: URQUHART D.J.
Published: February 2008

Within D.S.I.R., by a technical information service we do not mean a library or an abstracting service or a translating service. A technical information service may contain all or none of these. The essential thing about it is that it should be actively concerned with getting information in a suitable form to the user. Within this definition I should like to stress the word ‘actively’. We regard a service such as a library service which is only concerned with dealing with customers who approach it, as a passive service. To see if this has always been the view held in the Department I began to study the earlier papers relating to the Department. That, of course, is an appropriate activity because this year on 1st December the Department is forty years young.
ODD JOBS: A SYMPOSIUM
Authors: MCCALL H.
Published: February 2008

What an odd kind of specialist a marine librarian is. A normal specialist, if there is such a creature, has been defined as a man who knows more and more about less and less, until eventually he knows everything about nothing. But a marine librarian is not a normal specialist.
MEMBERS' FORUM SIGNPOSTS: SOME SELECTIONS FROM The 1955 SPECIAL LIBRARY LITERATURE
Authors: BIRD J.
Published: February 2008

This series of articles, now in its fourth year, has been designed to fill a gap in the bibliographical coverage of library literature which is covered by no other publication. Its aim is to spotlight those items in the year's production which are likely to be of direct practical value to the librarian or information officer working in a small organization. Such persons are frequently without previous training and experience of the work and need assistance in selecting from the ever‐growing volume of writings on librarianship those items which are likely to be of assistance to them in their work. This review aims at doing this; eliminating all purely theoretical discussions and descriptions of practice in large libraries, except where it is felt they can be of practical application in the small department, and including not only descriptions of library practice but also works of reference of which, even if they are not held in his library, any librarian should know something. No attempt is made to include only those items published in a particular year, but it is hoped that the list is in general representative of items received in British libraries in the year in question, and that between the articles in the series all important items have been covered. The volume of literature from which the choice must be made continues to grow, and the choice of individual items is necessarily a personal one, with which others may be expected to disagree, particularly over the omissions, but it is hoped that it will serve as a useful guide to those for whom it is intended.
I REVIEW OF BRITISH AND FOREIGN PRESS
Authors: BREWIN E.
Published: February 2008

The Review of British and Foreign Press, which is more conveniently referred to in the steel industry as the Press Review, originated in 1934, when it was produced by the Federation's Intelligence Department for the purpose of keeping heads of departments in touch with current developments in the economic, industrial and technical fields. It took the form of a duplicated sheet, usually of quarto size, giving headlines and page references of selected items from some three or four daily newspapers—The Times, Financial Times, Manchester Guardian—and from the weekly Economist. Distribution was purely internal, and the number rolled off daily was between twenty and thirty copies.
STATISTICAL AND ECONOMIC INFORMATION ON TEXTILES
Authors: ROBSON R.
Published: February 2008

The origins of statistical information relating to the textile industry as to statistics generally are to be found mainly in the needs of Governments which, especially in the field of export and import trade, have collected information from the earliest days and for which, in the case of the United Kingdom, systematic trade statistics tabulated by goods and countries date from 1696.
TEXTILE INFORMATION: HOW AND WHERE TO FIND IT
Authors: FREEDLAND VERNON D.
Published: February 2008

Although textiles is one of the oldest crafts and goes back to prehistory—it is believed that weaving grew up in the neolithic or later stone age—our modern civilization is producing such rapid and numerous developments in so many aspects of the subject that the individual is hard put to keep up with only a fraction of them.
INFORMATION SERVICES: ASSESSING THEIR VALUE
Authors: CLEVERDON C.W. , HARPER L.J.
Published: February 2008

There are several reasons for thinking that special librarianship today is at a most interesting but also most serious and even critical stage. The life of Aslib, which one may reasonably say covers the life of special librarianship in this country, can be divided into two parts: from its commencement in 1924 until the beginning of the second world war, and from then until the present day. It may be somewhat arbitrary to make a particular date the dividing line, for the two periods merged into each other, but looking back it is possible to argue that the date 1939 was important. Equally so, it appears that we are now entering a new era in special librarianship, and that in, say, 1980 it will be possible to say that some time around now was a definite turning point. Whether the comments in 1980 are that there was a moving forward or a moving backward will depend on our actions in the immediate future.
BUSINESS RECORDS AND The ARCHIVIST
Authors: JARVIS RUPERT C.
Published: February 2008

I have no doubt we have all heard of the schoolboy who received full marks for an essay that consisted of one single word. The point is, he scored full marks for accuracy as well as for brevity. The subject of the essay was ‘Snakes in Ireland’, and the essay consisted of the one word—‘None’.
MECHANICAL TRANSLATIONS
Authors: BOOTH ANDREW D.
Published: February 2008

The present paper is intended to form an introduction to the ideas of machine translation; it is in no sense a complete account of the work which has been carried out at Birkbeck College and elsewhere and which interested readers can study in more detail in a book which is in course of publication.
INFORMATION METHODS: ADAPTATION TO GROWTH
Authors: FAIRBAIRN R.E.
Published: February 2008

When I was first invited to give this paper it was suggested that it might be one of two or three papers dealing with a planned information service. The title has now been changed to ‘Information methods: adaptation to growth’, but I think this still implies there is a considerable amount of planning to do. However, after some weeks of unproductive thought upon this subect I stopped trying to think about planning the growth of an information service, and I started to think about why I couldn't think about the planning of the growth of an information service—quite a different matter.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION IN The MODERN WORLD
Authors: MALLOCH J.G.
Published: February 2008

I think it might be in keeping with Scottish tradition to base my discourse on a text. This is found in a poem by a Scot whom we can also claim as Canadian—John Buchan.
MICRORECORDING
Authors: VERRY H.R.
Published: February 2008

I am using the term microrecording to refer to all forms of microtexts, including the opaque methods. Microrecording may be defined as a method of making images to a reduced size which are unreadable by the naked eye except with the aid of an optical viewer or other similar means.
REPORT LITERATURE USED BY AERODYNAMICISTS
Authors: WILSON C.W.J.
Published: February 2008

Particularly since the 1939–45 war a number of studies of user‐habits and of the literatures of science and technology have been made, such as those by Fussier, Stevens and Shaw. Most of these studies are American and most of them have been concerned with periodicals, and to a lesser degree with books or monographs. Only a comparatively few subject areas have been examined, and none has been restricted solely to the research report. Discussions about report literature have generally been concerned largely with the pressing problems of identification, acquisition, handling, cataloguing and dissemination, and statistics given have been in broad terms which are not very helpful in particular situations. In view of the phenomenal growth of the report as a vehicle for communication of scientific information it is clearly of value to the R.A.E. library services to know in more detail the extent to which it is used and the pattern which that usage takes.
The RECORDS TO BE KEPT FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES
Authors: IVEY E.W.
Published: February 2008

WHhat records do we keep for business purposes? In my opinion, far too many. If we re‐phrase the question, what records should we keep for business purposes, I am confident that the answer is, or should be, as few as possible. Alas, this precept is not generally followed in industry, with the result that a great deal of space which could be more productively employed is wasted, and much unnecessary labour is expended on the maintenance of records which are not essential to business.
PRESERVATION OF RECORDS: STAFFING, STORAGE AND COSTS
Authors: TASKER S.A.
Published: February 2008

We have heard from the two previous speakers about the records which should be kept for business purposes and for the historian. I should now like to say a few words about the approach of an O and M Department in a large business to the problem of preserving current records in general.
PATENT CLASSIFICATION
Authors: GHEURY DE BRAY M.R.
Published: February 2008

Patent classification is a very big subject and to deal with it adequately I should need a whole course of lectures instead of only one. I shall, therefore, have to dismiss much of the subject very briefly.
AUTOMATION In LIBRARIES
Authors: AUGER C.P.
Published: February 2008

This paper represents a brief survey of automation in relation to its existing or probable applications in the spheres of libraries and information work.
SIGNPOSTS: SOME SELECTIONS FROM The 1958 SPECIAL LIBRARY LITERATURE
Authors: BIRD J.
Published: February 2008

At a time when a greatly expanded volume of research is giving rise to a mounting flood of publications, and scientists are becoming increasingly aware of the difficulty of keeping informed of all the work that may possibly be of interest to them, it is only natural that the literature on the problems and techniques of information work should itself grow rapidly. Not only is there an ever‐growing number of publications of library and documentation organizations, but as more and more scientists are faced with information problems and try to find solutions to them, relevant articles appear in the scientific and technical Press. The same set of conditions causes many people engaged in industry or research, with no training or experience in library or information work, to find themselves made responsible for the organization of information services at various levels, often in localities where there is no more experienced person to whom they can turn for advice. Such people can benefit greatly from the experience of others as recorded in the literature, but they often have difficulty in finding the papers that would be most helpful among the mass of other material, some of it irrelevant to their particular conditions, much of it too advanced or theoretical, quite a lot of it pure polemics, and some just bad. It is to meet the needs of these people that this series of reviews, now in its seventh year, has been designed. It attempts to pick out each year those items likely to be of direct practical help in running a small library or information service, especially for an untrained person. Advanced research work and theoretical discussions, however important, are ignored, as also are descriptions of practice in large libraries, unless they are capable of easy application in smaller organizations. Important bibliographies and works of reference are covered, including some of the more expensive ones which the librarian of a small organization may wish to know about and consult in other libraries, although he would not add them to his own stock. Items are not confined strictly to the publications of a particular year, though most of those chosen will have been received in British libraries during 1958. Those who have followed this series over the years will not fail to have noticed that the number of references included has increased. Even so, selection has become more and more difficult, and the final decisions as to what must be rejected are inevitably personal ones. Some injustice has possibly been done, but it is hoped that all the items included will prove of value to some of those for whom they are intended.
PROBLEMS In TECHNICAL WRITING
Authors: GODFREY J.W.
Published: February 2008

When this conference was first discussed, it was agreed, I think, that no fundamental decisions for action should be taken at its close, but I do suggest that it might be a good idea if there were a theme. I suggest that a good theme is the word ‘accuracy’.
TECHNICAL EDITING
Authors: ROBERTSON A.B.
Published: February 2008

There is only one way of finding out who reads a particular periodical. The readership survey has become the means of sampling the readership of a journal and confirming or modifying editorial opinion regarding the level and status of its readers. With specialized technical periodicals, however, it can be safely assumed that the readership will consist of specialized technicians or technologists—for example, Nuclear Engineering is presumably read by nuclear engineers, and the Muck Shifter by public works contractors. The Times Review of Industry does not have a specialized readership and, without the benefit of a readership survey, it would be difficult to make a hard and fast definition of its readership. The editorial staff are fairly certain that the level of education of their readers is at least grammar school sixth form, possibly with a professional or technical qualification added and there are certainly many graduate readers. There will be among the readers managers of various grades and functions, engineers, research workers and, no doubt, even some company directors who, as we all know, have far too much to read anyway, and a further catagory of reader may well be found among technical journalistic colleagues, etc. We hope they read us because we read them enthusiastically.
CHOOSING The MEDIUM: PRESENTATION THROUGH NON‐PRINT MEDIA
Authors: ANSTEY EDGAR
Published: February 2008

I am going to interpret my terms of reference—the non‐print media—a little more literally and widely than the Chairman has suggested. We heard so much this morning of the need for accuracy in the interpretation of a brief that I cannot content myself simply with a talk on films!
TECHNICAL WRITING AS A CAREER: PRODUCING The PERSONNEL
Authors: HOCKLEY HORACE R.
Published: February 2008

I suppose it is generally true that for most of the established professions, those who are outside any particular ‘magic circle’ regard the business which is carried on inside it as a complete mystery; full of pitfalls for the unwary; needing an enormous amount of hard work and training to get to the ‘top of the tree’; closely protected by an association or society, or even by the law!—and so on.
INFORMATION FOR INDUSTRY
Authors: TAYLOR L.
Published: February 2008

The purpose of this paper is to describe the various types of information required, the sources available, the operation of a small information service, and methods of co‐operative effort. Of necessity, therefore, it must be extensive in scope, and I must apologize at the outset for treating only briefly each aspect and for disregarding the particular problems of specific industries.
DOCUMENT REPRODUCTION: A DISCUSSION FORUM
Authors: WRIGHT GORDON H.
Published: February 2008

When the Hertfordshire Technical Library Service was inaugurated three years ago the County Council followed their normal practice of appointing an Advisory Committee with members drawn from industry to assist in the development of the scheme. At an early stage in the deliberations of the committee it was apparent that the provision of extensive scientific and technical resources both for education and industry in the county would create difficulties both in cost and storage space. It was agreed that microrecording, mechanical retrieval systems and document copying would need to be seriously studied if the service was to be efficient and economical.
ADVANCED TEXTBOOKS FOR USE In INDUSTRY
Authors: ROBERTS A.R.N.
Published: February 2008

The word conference is one of the most misused in the language—as many of us know to our cost. With organizers less skilled than the officials of Aslib, all too often it means that Professor X presents, at great length in the most dogmatic manner possible, a one‐sided view of his subject to an audience containing many of equal or greater knowledge than his own. The lecture is then opened up for questions, the audience being told in advance that Professor X has to leave in a quarter of an hour for a far more important meeting than the present one. The Professor then re‐phrases each of the three questions he has time for, explaining in his own words what the questioner really means or ought to have meant. Then in reply to a grovelling expression of thanks from the Chair, Professor X says that he has been immensely helped and encouraged by the opportunity of conferring with so many distinguished people who have given so much thought to the subject, following which he hastily leaves the platform disconnecting the microphone with his left foot and overturning the chairman's water bottle, as he bundles his voluminous notes into a brief‐case of which the zip fastener has long since expired.
BUILDING INDUSTRY WHAT The BUILDING TEAM WANTS
Authors: MARTIN W.KEITH
Published: February 2008

What the Building Team wants is, I think, the mote appropriate heading for my subject this morning. Under this heading I include the architect, the engineer, the surveyor, the building and civil engineering contractors and all the subdivisions under those headings which constitute the Building Team, including those members who serve with national and local authorities.
INFORMATION In The BUILDING INDUSTRY: PANEL DISCUSSION BETWEEN USERS AND PURVEYORS
Authors: KYLE BARBARA
Published: February 2008

The Chairman said that he was present that afternoon like a god out of a machine, but not claiming divinity. He had spent the morning at an engineering firm and, because of economic matters, he regretted he had been unable to hear the words of wisdom and disagreement that had been expressed at the morning session. Somehow, he had to sum them up at a quarter past four, but he would be guided for the next hour and a half or so by the questions and answers flying to and fro like sparks amongst the stubble. To steer both the questions and the repartee there could be no better person than Miss Barbara Kyle, who was to be the Panel Master or Question Master. He proposed to hand over to her now, and she would carry on until he himself took over again at the end.
The BENEFITS OF CO‐OPERATION
Authors: READETT A.G.
Published: February 2008

In opening this afternoon session, I feel rather like the London business man who, shortly before Christmas, had had a serious argument with the ‘ghost’ writer he employed to prepare his speeches. He was to deliver a speech at a City function of some importance, and, having duly received his notes—which, as usual, he had no time to read—went off to the dinner. When called upon to deliver his speech he rose and began ‘Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen. The world today is full of problems. There are grave international problems, social problems, industrial and trade union problems, and many similar and equally‐serious difficulties. With your permission, I should like to deal with some of these problems in detail tonight.’ Here, having reached the end of his first page, he turned it over, only to find scrawled across the next, otherwise blank sheet, the words ‘Now talk yourself out of that one!’
RAPID READING
Authors: LAMB MARGARET
Published: February 2008

After speech, reading is the most important of the basic skills, involving as it does recognition of a visual pattern, and the ability to pronounce it. Reading readiness has been the subject of much investigation and varies considerably from country to country, but in Great Britain it is now fairly generally accepted that the age at which a child is ready to read depends upon intelligence, home influence and teaching methods. The latter have varied very much in the last decade and much investigation is still going on to determine the best methods. To combine maximum comprehension with rapid or effective reading, more early practice in ‘silent’ as opposed to oral reading is probably necessary.
ASLIB INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
Authors: GOLDSTONE LEO
Published: February 2008

In the first quarter of 1951 the Aslib Information Department received 239 requests from members to borrow publications. In the ten years that have passed since then there has been an astonishing increase in the work of this department so that in the first quarter of 1960 there were 2,791 requests to borrow publications, received from members—more than a tenfold increase in this one type of work alone.