bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Splendours & Miseries
Authors: DUDLEY EDWARD , ASHWORTH WILFRED , CORRALL SHEILA , HANSTOCK TERRY , MALAKUNAS MILDA , BUNCH ALLAN , FLEMING EDWIN
Published: March 2008

1. The Managing Director of Diners Club International has sent a ‘personal invitation to join and to enjoy all the privileges of membership for six months, without obligation and save the £15 enrolment fee’ to:
Select committee
Authors: Place Hillary
Published: March 2008

Good afternoon, gentlemen. After lunch, I suppose there's no need to formally introduce you all, but for the benefit of Miss Manypence from the Registry (she shall be taking the minutes, you see) — if you wouldn't mind. First, Professors Wilkes (Dialect Studies), Davis (Celtic Studies) and Rhys (Educational Psychology). The external assessors, Laurie Taylor from the BBC, and the President for‐the‐time‐being of the Library Association (Sir Harry, m'dear). The Rector, elected by the Student Body, Donald Pleasence. And from the University Court, Lord Sobers; the Ordinances of course preclude our having a Bishop, for which relief much thanks, but we are pleased to have a Moderator on this occasion. Ah yes, and Provost Marshall.
A Better Mousetrap
Authors: CROPPER BARRY
Published: March 2008

Early in March of this year — at just about the same time that February's issue of NLW with its editorial on “Libraries and the Visiting Firemen” and Bryan Bacon's accompanying piece on British public libraries revisited plopped onto my desk — the Barbican Centre celebrated its third birthday. During those three years over 5.5 million visitors have followed our equivalent of Oz's yellow brick road: two thin yellow lines painted on the pavement from Moorgate and Barbican tube stations and leading into the heart of the Centre. The majority, of course, come to be entertained by the Royal Shakespeare Company or the London Symphony Orchestra, to view the latest exhibition in the Barbican Gallery or Concourse, to attend a conference or to see the latest release in Cinema One. Of that 5.5 million, however, over one million have visited and/or used the Barbican Library. As the City's largest lending library with a registered membership of almost 45,000 (and still growing) the majority of the 1300 people who visit the Library each day are, of course, coming in specifically to borrow books and sound recordings and — as such — are virtually indistinguishable from their library‐using counterparts elsewhere in the UK. Indeed, particularly within Greater London and the home counties, they are likely to be exactly the same people! Many, however, are visitors in the true sense of the term and a substantial proportion of them are “visiting firemen”.
The age of nefarious
Authors: Place Hillary
Published: March 2008

Perhaps because the LA Yearbook does not reveal birthdates the profession of Librarianship has been spared the astrological analyses of Gauquelin and certain quality newspapers. In a spirit of scientific enquiry to test the predictive validity of sun‐signs, the following grotesque professional caricatures are presented. Anyone who recognises themselves, or perhaps a colleague, should write to Monsieur G, indicating whether their astrological sign matches their stereotype, or hopefully not. By such means the pernicious practice of stereotyping, of which astrology is one of the oldest may be exposed.
Comprehensive and Efficient?
Authors: BRYON JFW , BASKER JIM , KERNS RUTH
Published: March 2008

Not until the prsesent writer retired from active librarianship, and became dependent upon solleagues' home reading collections, did he have revealed the inadequacy of subject stocks in public libraries, including his own. Admirable books he had never heard of (but should have done) were found, it is true, but others, known to be invaluable to interested readers, were not. In particular, it became obvious that in many, possibly most, public libraries the selection available on the shelves at any one time, on any subject, is usually inadequate and unrepresentative, consisting of the books no one has chosen to borrow, while catalogue checks have indicated surprising, sometimes distressing, gaps. These latter are the more alarming phenomenon: if funds are insufficient for suplication of standard works, politicians may be blameworthy, but if they are not bought at all, it suggests that librarians do not know which are the best books.
LA Council Report
Authors: ASHWORTH WILFRED
Published: March 2008

The LA Council met on 11 June 1985 still at Islington Town Hall because of HQ repairs. In spite of the almighty fuss made a few years ago by the membership over the method of election of Presidents, once again they failed to nominate. Mr Alex Wilson's name was then brought forward and he was nominated by Council to serve in 1986.
Research
Authors: CORRALL SHEILA , LITTLE JANE , BUNCH ALLAN , FLEMING EDWIN , ASHWORTH WILFRED
Published: March 2008

During 1982–84, BLR&DD supported a study of medical information and its use by practitioners. The problem of low usage of information services was investigated by looking at the characteristics of information itself and the consequences of not knowing — the penalties for ignorance. Experts were invited to contribute papers on information and communication problems in specialist areas, such as addiction, drugs, alcoholism and exotic diseases. In June 1984, a conference was organised to enable a larger group to discuss the issues raised and consider implications for information transfer. A recently‐published volume now brings together the ten specialist contributions, an overview of the project and a report of the conference. Consensus and penalties for ignorance in the medical sciences, edited by J Michael Brittain (BL R&D Report 5842) is published by Taylor Graham, at £15 (isbn 0—947568 03 4).
Homage to Catalinea
Authors: Place Hillary
Published: March 2008

Welcome to the Alvey Suite, where this afternoon we are demonstrating the ITAP compact disk online library management system. This is a fifth‐generation integrated knowledge‐based modular system with full co‐relational database handling facilities. As you see the terminals are the HMSO Model ‘B’, a state‐of‐the‐art development of the CCTA ‘Liberator’ originally used at Cheltenham for data capture.
Helping Librarians to Apply New Technology
Authors: RAMSDEN ANNE , DAY ALAN , BOOTH PAT F , ASHWORTH WILFRED
Published: March 2008

The options for library and information managers to apply IT in their libraries/information services are now wide ranging and particularly so with the arrival of the new generation of 16‐bit multi‐user micro‐computers and fully integrated library systems for small libraries. Three years ago the market for library software was comparatively small; now there are far more products and it's very competitive. Other well established options may include setting up a bibliographic database or online catalogue, using a stand alone system for handling, for example, serials control, or using a microcomputer as an online terminal. But where to begin? And, that is where the Library Technology Centre (LTC) might be a good starting point. Here, it is possible to explore the potential that microcomputers have to offer; decision‐making can be enhanced by taking advantage of demonstration facilities, to have “hand‐on” experience; and the visitor may tap the expertise and information resources of three information officers with complementary skills in the library and information fields.
Research
Authors: WARSHAW TONY , LITTLE JANE , FLEMING EDWIN , BUNCH ALLAN , ASHWORTH WILFRED
Published: March 2008

Continuing education for library and information management Ealing College of Higher Education is using a grant from BLR&DD to examine two main areas: para‐professional education and the coordination of external course provision. The present project, which runs from October 1985 to March 1986, is building on past work at Ealing. Ealing has developed a substantial database of short courses in librarianship and information science with details of cost, duration, location and subject. The work on para‐professional education will assess staff needs and will note experience in other countries, including the United States. The study of coordination will involve surveying course providers to see how they decide what courses to arrange, and how to price and market them. Further details are available from Dr Stephen Roberts, Ealing College of Higher Education, School of Library and Information Studies, St Mary's Road, Ealing, London W5 5RF (Tel: 01–579 4111 ext.3337).
Level vibes
Authors: THOMPSON VERENA , WARSHAW TONY , BUNCH ALLAN , FLEMING EDWIN , ASHWORTH WILFRED
Published: March 2008

Since the concept of provision aimed to attract particular groups from the community to use libraries began, library staff at all levels have discussed whether these materials should have a separate section of their own or be integrated with other items in the main classification sequence.
Bark Worse Than Byte
Authors: SNOB THEO D
Published: March 2008

With the proliferation of computer based issuing, cataloguing and acquisitions systems which now infest most of our libraries, it seems to me that those librarians who have not have the advantage of finding their way into the profession by way of training in data management, systems analysis, etc., might welcome a few words of advice on the relevance of the computer to their work. I am eminently qualified to provide such help by virtue of once remaining awake throughout a computer steering group meeting.
January LA Council Meeting
Authors: ASHWORTH WILFRED
Published: March 2008

The LA Council made a welcome return to HQ on 7 January after a two‐year absence and, however much members appreciated the friendly hospitality extended by Islington Council they were glad to be home again in Ridgmount Street. But its meeting room's acoustics are poor and a series of microphones with attached wires snaking all over the floor showed that an attempt had been made to deal with the problem. The resultant sound was a shade boxy and computer‐like but audible and will be even better when platform members have learnt not to bump their microphone stands.
Research
Authors: WARSHAW TONY , HANSTOCK TERRY , BUNCH ALLAN , FLEMING EDWIN , ASHWORTH WILFRED
Published: March 2008

People After acting as a section head in BLR&DD since the summer of 1984 John Burchell has been officially promoted to this post. His particular responsibilities include dissemination, user education and professional education. Sue Howley, BLR&DD project officer responsible for information policy, has been promoted to the post of Head of Central Services, Science Reference and Information Service (formerly Science Reference Library). Dr Richard Snelling, the project officer responsible for social science information, has transferred to Western Manuscripts in the British Library's Special Collections directorate.
Matter of public record Part II
Authors: Place Hillary
Published: March 2008

Miss Read, Thrush Green School, Thrush Green Dear Mrs Saint, I am sorry that some misunderstanding in this Office produced the curious form of your name which caused you some concern. If you will just indicate on the pro forma below, precisely how you prefer to be known, we shall put the matter in hand:
Wasp at the court of King Alfred or the yearswork in anglosaxon information chronichlingship
Authors: Place Hillary
Published: March 2008

In this year, 1985 was the Comet seen? Presaged by plague and pestilence of the blood, spreading alarm from the West Coast. In Mexico was earthquake. In Columbia volcanic eruption. In Latin America everywhere, inflation. In Africa the people starved, whereas in Europe was food made waste. By the power of television was one good man, Geldof, moved to collect a great sum; invoking the panoply of Stars and IT (wherewith ComSat). But more mysterious ways will yet be required if governments are to be moved, as the peoples are moved.
New Cricket Library At Lord's
Authors: HARRISON K.C. , NEWBURY KEN
Published: March 2008

If there's a sport or pastime which has attracted more literature than cricket, I'd like to hear about it. And if you have any doubts as to the extent of cricket writing, take a look at Padwick's Bibliography of cricket or the catalogues, fifty‐eight of them to date, issued by J W McKenzie, the bookseller from Ewell.
Our Woman in America
Authors: KERNS RUTH
Published: March 2008

A country no stronger than its information As a result of the new Gramm‐Rudman‐Hollings law which mandates a balanced federal budget by 1991 (a cut of $9.9m), and an $8.4 in budget reduction by Congress, the Library of Congress is suffering a total cutback of 7.6% from last year. This means a loss of $1 in every $13. The total number of hours open will be reduced by 30% per week; evening and weekend hours by 59%. The Library will be unable to purchase some 80 000 new books.
Women in libraries
Authors: LITTLE JANE
Published: March 2008

The last taboo — still taboo Spring has come to South London and a strange sound fills the air. Not the thwack of leather on willow, nor the whirr of lawnmower blade on long winter grass. It is the deafening silence of thousands of New Library World readers on the book selection/censorship debate. In my last column (Mar 86) I called the subject “the last taboo”, and it seems that for most library workers the subject is still taboo; too difficult and threatening to be discussed; capable of arousing strong feelings and painful emotions, anathema to many librarians.
Level vibes
Authors: THOMPSON VERENA
Published: March 2008

No matter the title of the post or the library, one part of the job description remains the same — to assess the need for, devise ways of implementing, provide services to members of the community from a particular racial group. Although aimed at a specific clientele, the materials stocked serve a dual purpose — not only do they represent the heritage and culture of a community within the authority's borders, they also show the dominant group that a wealth of materials other than their own exist and are of equal merit.
Commerical & Technical
Authors: FLEMING EDWIN
Published: March 2008

As was predicted, the Patent Office White Paper Intellectual property and innovation (Cmnd 9712, HMSO, £6.70) was published in April. Bold type is used in the White Paper to highlight firm government proposals and I believe these make two very serious threats to the interests of industrialists and the general community, and will make problems for librarians and information officers. In each case the effect of the government's proposals will be to raise costs and create barriers to the flow of much needed information: (1) The fair dealing sections 6 and 7 of the Copyright Act 1956, which has enabled information to be photocopied for ‘research and private study’ will be amended, if the government embody their proposal in legislation ‘to exclude copying for commercial purposes’. Who will decide where the border between commercial and non‐commercial falls? Will the librarian or information officer be expected to give summary judgments all day long on differential charges? And why should commercial enterprises be expected to pay a higher price which will simply be passed on to the public? Will permission have to be sought from the copyright owner? Will separate accounting be required? (2) Earlier in the report when concluding the section commending increased use of computers and online searching, the recommendation includes these words ‘… the government recognises that the charges made for these services will have to be set at a level which does not give rise to unfair competition with the private sector’. Why should the small and medium size businesses (much mentioned as ‘SME's’ in the report) have to pay inflated prices for information the government believes they should be using? The much talked about ‘efficiency’ which means not using two people where one will suffice and thus reducing costs, is deliberately rejected by the government who are in effect saying, ‘if you have access to our data bases you must pay the equivalent of a hefty profit to an unnecessary middle man, as well as the basic costs of our service’.
Alerts
Authors: ASHWORTH WILFRED
Published: March 2008

Learned Information Ltd, Besselsleigh Road, Abingdon, Oxford OX13 6LG has launched Information World Review now as a regular monthly newspaper for the European information industry. No.1 is dated February 1986 and the price is £18 per year. The purpose of the publication is to review what is happening in Europe's information industry, to draw attention to innovative products and services, and generally to give the sort of news that workers in the field would find interesting. It is difficult to judge from a first issue but, as the paper is not an entirely new venture, one would have expected it to seem less like a ‘specimen’ and to have more substance.
A Little Bit On The Side
Authors: LABDON PETER
Published: March 2008

This book was first commissioned as Report 5876 to the British Library Research and Development Department. It records the input of funds to public libraries from external sources during 1984/85, charting as it goes the providing agencies and the impact of the funding upon the services receiving it. I had better say at once that I was one of the librarians interviewed by Nick Moore in the course of his research for the report, and that he was kind enough to show me a draft before it achieved its present status.
Anomie, Books, Money and Libraries
Authors: KIRKPATRICK ROGER
Published: March 2008

In talking to librarians, as a publisher, I feel like a book reviewer talking to the author whose book he has reviewed — rather embarrassed and am reminded of Stephen Potter's definition of reviewing:
Research
Authors: WARSHAW TONY
Published: March 2008

Margaret O'Hare left BLRDD on 30 June to take up an appointment as Secretary General to the World Confederation for Physical Therapy. She has been with BLRDD since it joined the British Library and prior to that she worked for the Office for Scientific and Technical Information. She was Section Head at BLRDD responsible for library research, information policy research, business information, user studies, humanities, life and social sciences, the Centre for Library and Information Management and the Office for Humanities Communication. She was also Policy and Planning Officer for BLRDD, dealing with international activities and liaison as part of this function.
Community information
Authors: BUNCH ALLAN
Published: March 2008

For me the term ‘pyramid selling’ conjures up a picture of back street Cairo, with wily Arab entrepreneurs trying to con gullible tourists into buying a bit of the old Tutankhamens. The image is not totally inappropriate, as Consumer Affairs Minister, Michael Howard, warned when launching a new leaflet on Pyramid selling issued by the Department of Trade and Industry: ‘…get‐rich‐quick schemes which do not depend on getting out and selling a good product can end in disappointment and disaster for many people’. The new leaflet answers the most common questions about pyramid selling and outlines the statutory provisions governing such schemes. Copies can be obtained free from your local Trading Standards Department or direct from DTI Headquarters Library, Ashdown House, 1–19 Victoria Street, London SW1H0ET.
Silly Report: Small Fuss
Authors: ASHWORTH WILFRED , CORNFORD MIKE , PEARCE MIKE , WRIGHTING ANDREW
Published: March 2008

Ex Libris, the report of the Adam Smith Institute advocating membership fees and borrowing charges in public libraries, attracted no great attention apart from a few knockabout setpieces in the press and on the radio. NLW's prize for headline of the month goes to the Daily Telegraph of 23 June: two half columns on the report were headed by Fees Demanded to Deter Library Louts. Worth reporting here if only to express editorial belief that there can't be more than two people who read both NLW and the Daily Telegraph. There was also a little to‐do on Radio 4's ‘Stop the Week’ on 28 June with Robert Robinson almost alone defending public libraries, provoking a reference from one of the chatting coterie that something was alright for the ‘Raynes Park literati’. Robinson went to Raynes Park Country Grammar School which in its day was quite a school with W H Auden writing the words of the school song. (Readers in Uttoxeter and Gosport may like to know that the school is hard by the London and South Western Railway and is probably in the new‐fangled London Borough of Merton.) The Times on the same day had a respectable second leader which concluded that the report “should make us think more about how libraries should be managed, what they should stock and who should manage them”.
Research
Authors: WARSHAW TONY , BOWMAN LIZ , HANSTOCK TERRY , BUNCH ALLAN , FLEMING EDWIN , ASHWORTH WILFRED
Published: March 2008

Two new members of staff are joining BLRDD in September: Lawrence Howells, who is at present working in the Science Reference and Information service, will become a project officer, and Ros Cotton, who is currently working in the Library Association Library, will be the new dissemination officer.
Bias guide: Alison says
Authors: Place Hillary
Published: March 2008

If you have ever wondered ‘How long is a piece of string?’, then your days of worry are over. The 1985 – 86 Gaylord Catalog has just the thing for you, and your library. Gaylord's Definite Length Tape Dispenser takes the uncertainty out of dispensing 3‐inch core tapes up to 1‐inch wide. A single lever‐stroke metes out any length pre‐sized, from .75 to 4.5‐inches. Catalog No 66. A snip at $95.00 (no silly .95c either).
Two moans from NLW
Authors: GOODMAN SUSAN L , BLAIN EUNICE M , BIENER MARIA , MORRIS BERYL , BRONSON KEITH , MONTGOMERY ALASDAIR
Published: March 2008

From time to time the Editor receives mildly supplicating notes from contributors lamenting the absence of a fee for articles.
Future Conditional
Authors: COWLEY JOHN , RUSSELL JUDITH
Published: March 2008

We therefore recommend that the Association…actively seeks to recruit in membership people in the following categories: Service Managers: those responsible for managing library or information services…advice services, documentation centres, data bases and co‐ordinators of multi‐disciplinary directorates such as leisure services. Technical and Specialist Staff: including bibliographers, cataloguers, stock editors and personnel and training staff, educational technologists, computer specialists, etc., working in a library and information service context. Direct Contact Staff: Those in regular contact with their users, including…teacher‐librarians tutor‐librarians, archivists, information consultants, advice centre staff…(LA Futures Report, October 1985, para 34).
Special Discretion Required
Authors: CORNFORD MIKE
Published: March 2008

One of the hidden casualties of the introduction of book security systems is the demise of those wonderful collections of X Certificate material which used to masquerade under euphemisms like Restricted Access or Please ask at the desk. These reluctantly tolerated assemblages were traditionally kept well out of reach of public fondling and frequently well hidden from prurient gaze. My own Borough's endearing version of this category was called Controlled Issue, a term which gave rise to some interesting neologisms such as Can I have a Controlled Issue please? The ambiguity of this label has long been a source of delight, opening up as it does a vision of the public library actively promoting family planning by keeping from its users those books likely to give rise to lascivious thoughts which we all know lead to carnal deeds and greater staffing demands on the Children's Services.
Community information
Authors: BUNCH ALLAN
Published: March 2008

… are words that have been used to describe child sexual abuse, a subject that has been getting a lot of media attention just lately. A few months ago in this column I reviewed a book on the subject published in New Zealand. Since then a number of other publications have come to my attention. Preventing child sexual assault by Michele Elliott has been written to help parents, teachers and other concerned adults to communicate with children about this difficult subject. It is based on commonsense and realistic techniques and its message of prevention will not only reduce children's vulnerability, but also help them to be confident and keep safe. Michele Elliott is an educational psychologist with 17 years' experience working as a counsellor and leader of children's workshops. The book is published by Bedford Square Press/NCVO and obtainable through your usual library supplier or via Publications Section, National Foster Care Association, Francis House, Francis Street, London SW1P 1DE (add 35p p&p).
Ministering
Authors: Place Hillary
Published: March 2008

Good morning, Sir Comfrey. Morning, No.2. What the Dickens have you got there, an unpublished 3‐volume novella? Send it on to Richard Branson. Have it cleaned up! Ha, ha!
South African Librarianship: A Dissident View
Authors: MERRETT CHRISTOPHER
Published: March 2008

Education is the scene of bitter struggles in South Africa, but a revolution is occurring making education freely available for all. Librarians are responding positively in some ways, by offering resources and alternative education libraries, but many prefer to follow the official line, thus making librarianship vulnerable to international boycott. The South African Institute for Librarianship and Information Science portrays librarians as staunch defenders of the free flow of information for all South Africans. The view is that this is more probably a public relations exercise than the truth.
Open Learning For Library Assistants: Students Speak
Authors: MCCULLOUGH SHEILA , PATEMAN JOHN , Snowley Ian
Published: March 2008

This article presents some impressions of open learning gained by students enrolled with the Library and Information Science Open Learning Project, based at Telford College in Edinburgh. First, it is useful to give a brief description of the Project, its clientèle and the courses available.
Public Access Computer Facilities In Libraries — Some Guidelines
Authors: HARTLEY RJ , CORNFORD MIKE
Published: March 2008

The beginnings of provision of public access computing facilities are noted. Some of the issues to be addressed in taking a decision to provide such facilities and the pitfalls in implementing such a decision are examined. Consideration is given to both microcomputer and mainframe computer provision.
Unemployed? Let Them Do Voluntary Work
Authors: WHEEN SANDRA , KERNS RUTH
Published: March 2008

Being unemployed made me more than usually aware of Mrs Thatcher looking over my shoulder. She was saying, ‘Don't just sit there filling in application forms, do something — voluntary work for instance’. So, a few months out of library school, I took on a voluntary project, organising the photograph collection of a community publisher in Hackney, ‘Centerprise’. Mrs Thatcher aside, I thought doing this project would be a good way of finding out what freelance librarianship might be like. But before I tell my story, I must say something about Centerprise.
Librarians as Unacknowledged Legislators
Authors: HINTON BRIAN
Published: March 2008

One has to be so careful of evoking stereotypes — perhaps even ‘stereotypism’ — in the library world nowadays. I am still recovering from a fierce (if toothless) savaging from one of the new inner‐city zealots for declaring my inherent racism in describing myself as English rather than British; mind you, the complainer was a Scot.
Booking at the Barbican
Authors: CROPPER BARRY
Published: March 2008

The poster on this month's front cover featuring Barbican Library was commissioned by the Barbican Centre's marketing department (after consultation with the Library) as part of a series designed to promote those areas of the Centre's activities thought to be less well known to the general public than, for example, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the concert programme and the Art Gallery. The series cost around £30 000 but no cost fell on the Libraries Department.
Eurosausage Statistics or Artillery Manuals
Authors: LEEUWENBURG JEFF , CHESIRE DAVID
Published: March 2008

Is there an issue at all? Shouldn't international library cooperative professionalism ensure that all requests from whatever source be processed? And besides, talk of restrictions invokes bad memories of sad Czech librarians deprived of humanities serials, and causes panic amongst African users of loaned British apple‐tree pruning manuals. Many of these knee‐jerk reactions, while understandable, are hypocritical if they appeal to traditions of pure library altruism: whenever has librarianship been altruistic? Inter‐library loans go only to those who can afford to pay the high charges; the Third World does not get free loans, and is further haunted by Western copyright laws. The fights in Western countries against censorship and for freedom of information are causes which have political contexts, not pure Minervan origins in the forehead of the library profession. Cooperation with South Africa also has a political context, and librarians do not have diplomatic immunity.
Fees Amongst The Free
Authors: ASHWORTH WILFRED , ELLIOTT PIRKKO , PUGH SIMON
Published: March 2008

Kenneth Cooper, Chairman of the Working Party appointed jointly by the Library and Information Services Council and the Research and Development Department of the British Library, held a Press Conference on 19 February to introduce its report, published that day. The meeting took place in his office and, in the event, was attended by representatives of only NLW, the LA Record, and three national newspapers — a cosy occasion!
Two Into One Will Go — Job Sharing In Libraries
Authors: JAYAWARDENE MARION
Published: March 2008

Job sharing is an arrangement by which two people share the responsibilities, hours, and salary of one full‐time post. Although it is a type of part‐time work, it carries with it many of the benefits of full‐time employment. Unlike most traditional part‐time jobs, which are mainly for unqualified staff, with few prospects of further training or promotion, job shares can be implemented in almost any kind of job at any level.
Smile Though Your Heart Is Aching
Authors: CORNFORD MIKE
Published: March 2008

However much it might sound like an old chestnut, this is not an apocryphal story. During my first month of employment in a library when my advisory work had consisted entirely of fielding questions about the availability of lavatories, public telephones and photocopiers I was approached by a man who said, “You used to have a book, I can't remember what it's called”, and vaguely waving towards the windows added, “it had a green cover and used to be over there”. For a timid waif, as yet unaware that there was such a grandiose thing as enquiry technique, this was a devastating challenge so I looked anxiously around for professional assistance. But as usual, my senior colleagues were either at a meeting, hiding from the public in the office or else out in the foyer harassing a defenceless pensioner for spilling tea over a crochet book. Manfully I single‐handedly set about the task. By careful questioning, some inspired guess‐work and a bit of luck (I still hadn't quite got the hang of the catalogue) I advanced from subject to title and triumphantly dug the required item out of the reserve store. Naturally it had a red cover.
A Different Order of Things: A French Librarian in Britain
Authors: BERARD RAYMOND
Published: March 2008

My friends in the Library Association have asked me to pen some thoughts on my experience as a French librarian in England. The flurry of my departure, followed by the confusion of setting up house with young children and all our goods and chattels in Rouen after a delightful stay of 6 years in London have prevented my replying sooner to their request.
Accounting for Libraries
Authors: PATEMAN JOHN
Published: March 2008

When Library School Directors are next considering changes to their courses may I suggest the following additions: accountancy skills and retail sales management. Much of the time of a professional librarian can be spent accounting for every penny that is taken from the public. And these days this can amount to a tidy sum. Not only are there ever increasing fines and local histories to be sold, but fringe items such as children's badges, plastic bags and pencils. More dubious still are those non‐library sales functions bolted on to our traditional duties simply because we are a public service. Concert ticket sales, for example, are explained away as a legitimate municipal function.
We Have Something You Want
Authors: HANNABUSS STUART
Published: March 2008

Marketing is the art of matching the capabilities of a company with the wants of customers. In libraries, the product is information, and it is an ideal subject for marketing management. The various stages involved in this are discussed, and a method of dealing with the marketing challenge is presented. Libraries need to persist in order to remain prosperous.
Feminist Audio Books — A Tape Library For Blind Women
Authors: BEHR ALISON
Published: March 2008

I am a graduate Chartered Librarian. I left The Polytechnic of North London with a degree in Librarianship in July 1981, got my Charter at the Jewish Chronicle library in November 1982 and joined Feminist Audio Books in January 1986. FAB had just been funded by the Greater London Council Women's Committee, which was about to be abolished on 31 March 1986, with no guarantee of future funding. Since then, FAB has been funded by the London Boroughs Grants Scheme.
A German Public Library and Its Community
Authors: OBBERG HEINRICH
Published: March 2008

The legal position of public libraries in Germany is discussed with particular reference to Bonn. Libraries see themselves as institutions which supply and circulate freely expressed opinions, but nowhere is there any mention of the necessity to establish and maintain them. Librarians have to create their own principles regarding contents and organisation of librarianship. Libraries other than municipal ones are discussed, and the effect of political and social structure of communities on the provision of information and services. The needs of the physically disabled and foreign workers, who have to be catered for specially, are also considered.
Joint enterprise
Authors: BRINDLEY LYNNE , SHUTE ALISON
Published: March 2008

We publish below two papers given on 21 July 1987 at a seminar “Joint Enterprise: Roles and Relationships of the Public and Private Sectors in the Provision of Library and Information Services.” The seminar was organised by LISC and BL in conjunction with William Dawson and Sons Ltd.
The joy of backlogs
Authors: Blair Eunice M
Published: March 2008

In all the voluminous literature on librarianship, one topic has been almost entirely ignored, although it is a major feature in most libraries and the most conspicuous one in many. This topic is library backlogs, which have been so much accepted as a fact of life that no‐one bothers to write about them. It is therefore reassuring to learn that serious interest is being shown at last.
LA Code of professional conduct: A Contradiction
Authors: Fleming Edwin
Published: March 2008

I wish to examine one particular contradiction in the LA's Code in a little depth. As I write, two persons I know well who used a number of libraries, are now serving prison sentences. The first was convicted of manslaughter; he is young, very tall, and his only use of libraries was to read electoral registers together with the related telephone directory. At his trial ninety‐eight witnesses gave a picture of persons being tracked down by him and living in fear as a result. It has been claimed that because of paragraph hi in the Code, his activities in the library cannot be mentioned to the police as the Code here forbids members to divulge to a third party, material or information entrusted to them in confidence. The second is an undischarged bankrupt with superficial charm. He tried to sell a non‐existent directory he said he was “publishing” to a number of libraries at the end of 1984. He advertised for staff in the local job centre, and had a limited company. His legal credit limit was £10, yet he was convicted of obtaining £7,210 credit by fraud. One person's conduct is sometimes very destructive to the whole community!
Library and Society: A Dutch library journal
Authors: Stein Frans
Published: March 2008

When in 1972 three library associations merged into the Dutch Centre for Public Libraries and Literature (NBLC), a common professional journal was also established.
IFLA 87 — A VIEW FROM THE INFORMATION DESK
Authors: Campbell Irene
Published: March 2008

“Good morning, this is Vienna calling”. The temptation was strong to ask Vienna for the votes of the Austrian jury, but I remembered in time that this was not the Eurovision Song Contest, but the IFLA Information Desk and this was my first call. It was only Friday, the desk was still being organised, the exhibition did not begin until Sunday and the Conference proper not until Monday. However, the enquiries were already beginning to trickle in. This one turned out to be a cancellation from a delegate, so she was referred to the Registration Desk.
LIBRARY PR — NUTS, BOLTS AND GRAND DESIGN
Authors: Pyle Jon
Published: March 2008

Let's start at the end the customer sees. Why do librarians, who are good at being librarians, waste time being bad at publicity management, promotion and graphic design — if they attempt any of them at all? For all too many library services, PR and marketing are yet to be invented. The textbooks are on the shelves in the 650s, but as far as those libraries' managers are concerned they might as well be on Mars. When it comes to library promotion (which seems to be something you do a quick burst of when the mood takes you) it is a case of do it yourself and do it cheap — and probably do it nasty.
The research search
Authors: Hannabuss Stuart
Published: March 2008

Everybody's doing it. Everybody who is not doing it wants to do it. We all believe there should be more of it. Other people tell us we should do it. When we do it, many others tell us we should not have done it (because they should have done it instead). Children at school tell us they do it. PhDs in the throes tell us they have almost completed it. Retired librarians devote their fading years to it. Bibliographers diligently record it … RESEARCH.
Two tribes
Authors: Pateman John
Published: March 2008

Several factors have led me to believe that we are rapidly becoming a profession that can be divided into Two Tribes — those working in the Inner Cities and those working elsewhere. And the chances of moving from one sector to the other are becoming increasingly slender.
THE ECONOMICS OF PUBLIC LIBRARY CHARGES
Authors: Bailey S.J.
Published: March 2008

Steve Bailey's article is a response to the invitation at the end of the August 1988 leading article “A Question of Ideology”. About that Green Paper it said “What else would you expect from a Tory Government?” — and lots more of course.
LIBRARIES AND EDUCATION IN BLACK SOUTH AFRICA
Authors: Drewett Wendy
Published: March 2008

Mention South Africa and it always arouses strong emotions and so a phone call from the British Council in 1985 inviting my husband and me to visit that country gave us a great deal to think about. Would we be supporting a detestable régime? Would we be safe? Would we be acceptable to the black community? How could we best help them? What could we hope to achieve? We decided to go and it proved to be the beginning of an interesting association with the British Council and black South African librarianship.
Alerts
Authors: Ashworth Wilfred
Published: March 2008

The Library Association gives advance notice of a conference to be held at Regent's College, Inner Circle, Regent's Park, London NW1 4NS on 9 March, 1989 on “Training: Sources and Resources”. The cost will be £50 for LA members (£60 to non‐members) including lunch and refreshments. A full programme and booking forms can be obtained from the Continuing Education Department, The Library Association, 7 Ridgmount Street, London WC1E 7AE. At the time of writing the speakers are not yet known.
Features
Authors: Ashworth Wilfred , Featherstone Tom
Published: March 2008

A quite unexpected coincidence of a great pile of copy shouting to be published and a complete absence of anything I feel like shouting about, means a remission from the pain of reading the effusions usually occupying this space. So, I take the opportunity of telling Librarylanders what NLW likes to have in the way of copy.
Features
Authors: Warburton Yvonne , Cornford Mike , Vogel Sandra
Published: March 2008

Last month there was an unexpected complete absence of anything I felt like shouting about. This month there's more than enough.
Columns
Authors: Day Shirley , Bunch Allan , Fleming Edwin
Published: March 2008

The Microelectronics Education Support Unit (MESU) is funding an investigation into the dissemination of Information Technology information in local education authorities.
Alerts
Authors: Ashworth Wilfred
Published: March 2008

There is now no shortage of complex and expensive database software for business use and information retrieval but not all applications need the full sophistication of a relational programmable package costing close to £1,000. Indeed overkill can be a mistake because big systems do not always do simple tasks well. It is, therefore, worth looking to see what the other end of the spectrum has to offer. The “Key” data handling package is just such a system, intended for use in education and designed to be simple enough for pupils themselves to use. At a cost of only £7.95 (BBC B computer) or £9.95 (Research Machines Nimbus computer) including a 72‐page spiral‐bound handbook, one would not expect much, but in fact the system can record information of up to 255 characters length in a number of varied types of field, store simple drawings associated with the records, and plot positions on a map. Searching is possible for beginnings, endings and part words and is surprisingly fast.
Unclassified Ads
Authors: Place Hillary
Published: March 2008

Send £3 for our fully illustrated catalogues. You will receive details of books which throughout the ages have been “too hot to handle”; books which have toppled governments and started wars. Our books are: informative, educational, expensive and explicit. Many are illustrated. With your first order, you will receive a leather bookmark. All our books are written by adults for adults! Make your cheque payable to Basque Library Enterprises, Wirrall. Also available, catalogues of imported titles.
Columns
Authors: Day Shirley , Fleming Edwin , Bunch Allan
Published: March 2008

The National Centre for Information Media and Technology (CIMTECH) is developing a full text database of optical disc trade literature and journal articles. The database will be held on a WORM (write once, read many) disc and it will be used to investigate the economic, technical and administrative issues associated with the application of writable discs in library and information sciences. There will be opportunities to see demonstrations of the system throughout the course of the project. Contact: Tony Hendley, CIMTECH, Hatfield Polytechnic, College Lane, Hatfield, Herts AL10 9AB (Tel. 07072 79691).
Alerts
Authors: Ashworth Wilfred
Published: March 2008

It continues to worry me that library and information services so often send news sheets and handouts lacking vital information. This month I have a publication for review from the Institute of Information Scientists with all details except price and I had to ring Plymouth to get this. Then there was the Suffolk County Council's Information and Library Service which, in its SCILS News, March 1989 on page 7 described the Museum of East Anglian Life and included a picture of its new shop and Contemporary Crafts Gallery. The Museum sounds interesting and attractive as does the included programme of lectures and special events throughout 1989 — just the place to visit, in fact, but where is it? And copy on courses and conferences without indication of start‐time and cost fail to tell potential participants at least one of the things which may help them to decide whether or not to be actual participants.
Alerts
Authors: Ashworth Wilfred
Published: March 2008

The British Library's “most lavishly‐illustrated book to date” (better even than their Annual Report?) is Treasures of the British Library, ISBN 07123 0155 0, 290 x 219mm, £25, by Nicolas Barker and the curatorial staff of the British Library, illustrated with 138 colour and 190 black‐and‐white photographs of outstanding items in the Library's collections. Printed books, illuminated manuscripts, papyri, autograph albums, maps, music, oriental material of all kinds, stamps, paintings, prints, photographs, ephemera, sculpture, furniture, sound recordings and newspapers are all featured so there cannot be many examples from each category, but they have been chosen as landmarks in the history of the development of the national collection and the choices made will be of great interest.
Columns
Authors: Day Shirley , Fleming Edwin , Bunch Allan
Published: March 2008

A major international conference “Information Technology and the Research Process” sponsored by BLRDD, the University of Pittsburgh and the Computer Board for Universities and Research Councils took place in mid‐July at Cranfield Institute of Technology, UK. Delegates from all over the world gathered to hear how information technology (IT) is transforming the traditional research process. Twenty speakers provided their individual views on how IT is opening up types of analysis hitherto impossible, providing alternative methods of investigation and supporting new ways of communicating the results of research. The conduct of research in all disciplines including science, technology and the humanities and how IT enhances the outcome was debated during the lively meeting of minds at Cranfield. The proceedings are to be published this winter.