bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PRIMARY MATERIALS IN The SOCIAL SCIENCES CONCLUSIONS
Authors: LINE M.B.
Published: February 2008

This conference is both important and timely, because of the imminent appearance of a White Paper on the British Library, and the possibility of influencing government policy on the provision of social science materials at a national level. Obviously the British Libraries Board will have a great many matters to see to, and there is a great danger that questions such as we have been discussing will go by default unless a special point is made of them. The Aslib Social Sciences Group is one of the few bodies with the background and expertise to make comments and proposals.
LIBRARY THEORY AND PRACTICAL VOCATIONAL TRAINING: A FORUM
Authors: WILSON B.J. , FOSKETT D.J. , SAUNDERS W.L.
Published: February 2008

The reason that I am here opening the forum this evening is that in October 1969 at a Joint Seminar on the Training of Teachers and Librarians, held at the London University Research Unit for Student Problems, I broke, after fifteen years in the information world, my rule of keeping silent! I was then silly enough to write something as well, and hence here I am. What is more, I am now here under false pretences because, since my invitation to speak on this forum, I have left information work as such and am now an administrator full time. However, I still have a considerable responsibility for, and interest in, the recruitment of library staff.
CONTROLLED CIRCULATION JOURNALS
Authors: FINDLAY R.J. , STREATFEILD W.
Published: February 2008

Company librarians and information officers are in the communications business. So are industrial publishers. We both try to serve approximately the same audience, but we rarely put our heads together to find ways of achieving our common objectives. If this meeting, therefore, does no more than lay the cables for a communications link which can be used to help us work more closely together from now on, it will have been a great success.
SOME QUANTITATIVE ASPECTS OF FEATURE CARD SYSTEMS: RESULTS OF A QUESTIONNAIRE
Authors: NIGHTINGALE R.A.
Published: February 2008

It is, of course, unusual for an author to begin his paper with acknowledgements but I have elected to do so because, although this paper has only one named author, it is in fact the work of a group of people, namely the Committee of the Aslib Co‐ordinate Indexing Group. The idea for the project, the style and format of the questionnaire and the basic method of processing were all arrived at in committee. My contribution was to distribute the questionnaires, process the returns and to agree to publish the results. I offer to the other members of the Committee my sincere thanks for all the work that went into this project.
PROBLEMS OF USING EXTERNAL SERVICES FOR RETROSPECTIVE SEARCH
Authors: ROBINSON F.
Published: February 2008

This paper is based on a study made of the possible use of CA Condensates for retrospective search purposes in ICI. Such a study is often a good way of defining what the problems are.
A REVIEW OF The MAIN PROBLEMS
Authors: VICKERY B.C.
Published: February 2008

All that I wish to do in this talk is to set in some context some of the things that have already been said today, and add a few comments of my own, in order to provide a basis for further discussions. It has been suggested that we ought to declare our interests, which user ‘cap’ we are wearing: I will try to speak as a librarian/information officer, faced with the world literature and its records—what should one provide in order to serve best one's organization's users? And in doing this, of course, one has to keep in mind that the ultimate user is the person who actually wants the information. I was rather struck with Dr Matthews saying that the computer as a tool for information might rival the telephone system in importance, thinking that the telephone is a way of putting one person into communication with another. For we, as information officers, must always remember that this is our job as well, even if through the intermediary of a document. So a computer is only a tool that can aid this person‐to‐person communication. I think, therefore—as was also suggested by earlier speakers—that we should not simply look at magnetic tape files in isolation, but we should think of them as one of the ways in which the multitude of bibliographic references are now recorded—a novel way, a way which offers great opportunities for doing new things, but not to be looked at to the neglect of all the other varieties of bibliographical sources.
FOREIGN TECHNICAL LITERATURE: A PROBLEM OF COSTS, COVERAGE AND COMPREHENSION
Authors: GOULD C.J. , STERN B.T.
Published: February 2008

The broad results of surveys on the ways in which Wellcome scientists handle foreign language technical texts are discussed. Areas of co‐operation between organizations leading to a reduction in costs and an increase in coverage are suggested with a view to Aslib acting as co‐ordinator and arranging discussions between interested parties.
GRAPHIC DISPLAY DEVICES IN THESAURUS CONSTRUCTION AND USE
Authors: ROLLING L.
Published: February 2008

One of the essential problems in scientific documentation is the establishment of relationships between:
SOME PROBLEMS IN COMPILING A THESAURUS OF TRANSPORTATION AND PLANNING TERMS
Authors: THOMAS PETER A.
Published: February 2008

My history master always encouraged me to begin an essay with a quotation from some renowned literary source. Old habits died hard, so here is a quotation, related to the subject of planning and transportation in London:
The INFORMATION SCENE IN BRITAIN AND GERMANY
Authors: ASHWORTH WILFRED
Published: February 2008

Love of the past is one of the key features of the British character. Tourists who flock to our shores see it in our carefully‐preserved archaeological sites, ancient monuments, churches, castles, palaces and timbered buildings. During their visit they may even learn from the guides that tradition is so important to us that its continuance may acquire legal force. If an individual can prove that he and his predecessors have enjoyed a privilege for a certain length of time he may be granted leave to enjoy it in perpetuity, as, for example, by our laws of ancient lights and right of way. In spite of evidence of this kind foreigners usually still fail to understand how fundamental tradition is to our nature and how much we respect our long‐standing institutions. Thus, in order properly to understand the present state of the information industry in Great Britain it will be necessary to examine its historical growth. As with most British institutions it owes much to the circumstances of its development.
1. The ESRO SYSTEM
Authors: Isotta N.E.C.
Published: February 2008

First of all, I would like to say how delighted I am that Aslib should have chosen Darmstadt this year as its Conference Centre. There are three reasons for this which are equally important to me. For one thing, it gives me the opportunity to renew acquaintances which were made several years ago when I first had anything to do with any of the Aslib activities. In those days my main interest was with the Electronics Group although, somewhat later, this was also extended to Aslib Council activities. As I have now been with the European Space Research Organization for almost exactly seven years, my opportunities for Aslib contacts have been fairly limited. Secondly, ESRO has its European Space Operations Centre here in Darmstadt and, as you will see from your visit, the ESRO/ELDO Space Documentation Service is based on the computer installation in this Centre. Finally, it gives me the opportunity to demonstrate the NASA/RECON on‐line system in operation.
Problems in using external information services—attitudes of the special library and its users
Authors: Corbett L.
Published: February 2008

To the two aspects of the title—external information and attitudes—I would like to add a qualifying extension, namely, observations of a pragmatic special librarian seeking some necessary development routes from the passing conven‐tional library to the current and future library/information centre concept. I will keep to practical matters and problems of today and not fly into ‘futurology’ which appears to have become a fashion.
Librarians and the management of library systems
Authors: Thomas P.A. , Ward Valerie A.
Published: February 2008

Systems analysis is no new phenomenon, and the concept of hierarchies of systems is no novelty to a librarian. Its usefulness in classification schemes has long been appreciated. Control over change is one of the important contributions made possible by systems analysis. An organization and its environment are in a continuous state of change, and any information that can help people to understand, and hopefully to control, the way in which an organization reacts to change is of vital importance to management.
The Technical Indexes System for the control of trade literature
Authors: Ford M.
Published: February 2008

Despite a wealth of books on information handling, the problems and techniques associated with the handling of product data are sadly neglected by the standard works. In a way, this is surprising not only because these techniques are necessarily different from those used for scientific information, but also because, in the engineering industries, there is almost certainly a greater need for product data than for any other form of information. In another way, it is not surprising since the rules cannot be hard and fast, and the techniques will often have to be unscientific because of the number and variety of the sources of product data. Since the purpose of product data is not only to inform but also to sell, we cannot be surprised that there is a total lack of uniformity of size, shape, colour and layout in catalogues from different manufacturers. Standardization of these parameters would seem to be the initial answer to this problem, but, although there is a British Standard covering the subject and the Department of Trade and Industry has been urged to exert pressures on manufacturers, no standardization is ever likely to come into effect, or certainly not to any significant extent. A further ideal, that of a coding for literature, does not exist, contrary to popular belief. In addition to the practical difficulties created by these variables, there is the added problem that the user is unable to control his input of data, as he can with scientific information. Some manufacturers send their literature unasked and others do not send it even when asked.
Information services in university libraries
Authors: Hall J.
Published: February 2008

Although information services in university libraries were suggested as far back as 1939, it has only been since the mid‐sixties that the information function has been seriously developed by university libraries in this country. Such developments have largely been confined to the technological universities and a few of their ‘new’ and ‘redbrick’ counterparts, but the case for them has been convincingly argued and interest in the provision of information services has been general for some time, as was shown by the Report on Education and Training for Scientific and Technological Library and Information Work published by the Department of Education and Science in 1968. In this Report twenty‐six out of thirty‐seven university librarians indicated that, resources permitting, they would like to extend the services offered to science and technology departments, with special library standards in mind. The rise of the computer‐based services and the need to budget for their use may further accelerate the consideration of information provision in university circles and the coming Quinquennium seems likely to be of particular importance in the development of information services in universities. Some consideration of the implications and problems associated with them, especially for older universities, where staff are not used to such services, may therefore be useful at this time.
Value for money in Government library/information services
Authors: Overton C.D.
Published: February 2008

There is a section entitled ‘Too much vs Too Little’ in Robert Townsend's book Up the Organisation (London: Michael Joseph, 1970) which has a direct bearing on the subject of this paper: ‘A tight budget brings out the best creative instincts in man. Give him unlimited funds and he won't come up with the best way to a result. Man is a complicating animal. He only simplifies under pressure. Put him under some financial pressure … then he'll come up with a plan which, to his own private amazement, is not only less expensive, but also faster and better than his original proposal which you sent back’!
Information sources about the EEC in the United Kingdom
Authors: Smyth A.L.
Published: February 2008

Oneadvantage of living in a democratic country is the multiplicity of information sources openly available. Those who believe in a more authoritarian or bureaucratic form of government can point to the economic waste of having so many lines of communication which often overlap, are sometimes even contradictory and, moreover, lack the authority of the state. The business world does not accept this view. It requires great flexibility in its supply of information. It needs to examine a problem from every possible angle and be given the opportunity to select and evaluate information, particularly in that very wide area where it is difficult to distinguish between facts and opinions.
Structure of information services
Authors: Arnold D.V.
Published: February 2008

It was originally intended that this paper should present a description of the traditional structure of an information service and an indication of how that structure changes as a result of introducing external information services. Although during the writing of the paper this intention has been kept constantly in mind, the author has found it impossible not to stray into describing changes of function and the resulting changes in attitudes on the part of information worker and user. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the resultant changes in function and changes in attitude are still very much in a formative stage, and until they are reasonably crystallized it would be foolish to venture too far in discussing possible changes in structure. Secondly, formal organizational structures are becoming outmoded in modern management practice; informality and the highest degree of flexibility are the latter's key notes.
A future for the bulletin?: the results of an enquiry into how bulletins are used in today's special library
Authors: Whitehall T.
Published: February 2008

Now that so many current awareness services are available from outside the industrial special library, and internal SDI via computer is a reality in many companies, it seems likely that attitudes to the use of the ‘information bulletin’ concept as a means of dissemination will have changed. To get some idea of the trend, facts and opinions were solicited from librarians and information officers.
Pilot studies in a multi‐data base environment
Authors: Zwillenberg H.J.
Published: February 2008

The Commonwealth of Australia Department of Supply, an organization in some respects not unlike the UK Department of Defence Procurement Executive operates a number of research laboratories and factories, staffed by some 1600 or so scientists and engineers and employs 20,000 non‐scientists/engineers, tradesmen, and the like.
Staff management and staff participation
Authors: Dutton B.G.
Published: February 2008

There is a traditional tendency to think of managers and the managed as two quite separate classes of individual and I should like to make it clear therefore that when I refer to ways in which a manager can improve his effectiveness I am talking about anyone of you who, at a particular moment in time, is achieving his objectives through the agency of at least one other person. I would suggest that by this definition we are all managers, for even those few who in their jobs do not work through a subordinate must, in order to approach their objectives most effectively, manage either their peers or their seniors.
British Book Distribution: the bookseller's role and problems
Authors: Noble D.H.
Published: February 2008

Approximately five years ago, when he retired, Mr Claude Gill delivered a paper to a conference of librarians and it was very clear that he was pessimistic regarding the standards of distribution from publishers to booksellers. After the traumas of early computerization and decentralization away from London and five years later, I think that there are now grounds for believing that the situation has improved for the better. It is not ideal. Many publishers are still too slow and too many mistakes are still being made. The Director of the Booksellers Association recently said that: ‘In an outside world of increasing congestion and high labour costs it may be regarded as an outstanding achievement for a service nowadays to be no worse off!’
Preparation for library management: contribution of the library schools
Authors: Patrick L.G.
Published: February 2008

Too often in the past we have been content with vocational training in technical skills; this contentment both arose from and helped to give rise to relatively static situations. Today, when one of our greatest certainties is the inevitability of change we need ‘to prepare individuals who will be not only competent to perform and manage the present systems but who, through their educational experience, will have the necessary insight, imagination and habits of mind, needed to improve and to enhance the system by adapting and advancing it to meet its future requirements’ (P. Wasserman). Within the last decade the provision of facilities for education and qualification in librarianship has broadened and diversified to a degree which is complex, not to say confusing. This variety of provision is to be commended and is both natural and correct for our present situation. Today it is impossible to set down one definitive pattern of education for librarianship and regard it as the ideal. It is improbable that a curriculum could be agreed by all and not everything important in education appears in a curriculum.
Information services in industry
Authors: Burrows B.C.
Published: February 2008

This talk is about the future. There is only one certain thing we know about the future and that is that we know nothing about the future.
Education and Training: For Staff and Users
Authors: Cliffe G.R.
Published: February 2008

Surveys carried out in the UK have shown that only about 10% of University graduates in Chemistry have received formal training in the use of the chemical literature and in the case of extra‐mural graduates only 2%. This is not the place to investigate the reasons for, or the desirability of, this state of affairs but it leaves us in no doubt that as Information Managers we must make some attempt ourselves to educate the users of the information services.
Publicity or Selling the Information Service
Authors: Haygarth Jackson A.R.
Published: February 2008

Communication is really the essence of information science. The best information service in the world has no meaning unless it is used. So the information scientists and librarians must communicate with their users and sell their service.
Management techniques applied to the operation of information services
Authors: Mason D.
Published: February 2008

Confucius, that ancient Chinese sage who has been held responsible for so many pseudo‐philosophical statements, was asked by one of his disciples what was the first thing he would do if he were appointed head of government. ‘I would rectify the use of terms’ replied Confucius. The disciple then enquired what such an action had to do with government, and received the answer ‘If words are not used correctly then speech becomes tied in knots, and business comes to a standstill.’ Confucius may have been stating the extreme case but nevertheless it is perhaps as well to define terms, so let us begin with the verb ‘to manage’. The Oxford English Dictionary states that it derives from the Latin manus (a hand) and it can mean ‘to train a horse in its paces; to make an object serve one's purpose; to control the course of affairs by one's own actions; to administer; to husband; to treat a person with indulgence; to cause persons to submit to one's control; to bring about one's wishes by artifice and flattery; and to contrive to get along or pull through’.
Information services to management consultants
Authors: Blagden John
Published: February 2008

Management consultants have been described as ‘the people who borrow your watch to tell you what time it is and then walk off with the watch’. But Robert Townsend's refreshing anti‐management text makes equally damaging remarks about directors, advertising, purchasing and management. The Management Consultant Association however, report that in 1972 fee income reached a record £30.3 million.
Information for Members of Parliament: the service provided by the House of Commons Library
Authors: Menhennet David
Published: February 2008

‘Information transfer’ may be considered at different levels of sophistication. The subject goes much wider and deeper than, for example, the physical movement of library materials from one location to another. It is wise for us to remember, however, that behind all our discussions at this Conference, and behind the massive apparatus of the Congressional Research Service in Washington and of the National Diet Library in Tokyo, lies one simply expressed requirement: that of providing the right person or organization with the right information in the right manner at the right time. The most carefully organized information retrieval systems are sometimes defeated by elementary slips or misunderstandings on the part of those who operate them. From this introduction you will have deduced that I am a firm believer in the overriding human values of common sense, intelligence and attentiveness to the matter in hand—whatever the question and whatever the circumstances.
Information services for the universities
Authors: Evans Susan M.
Published: February 2008

I feel obliged to begin by apologizing for my lack of current involvement in that sphere of activity—the university world—which I am to discuss. I have, however, provided information services in two universities in the recent past and have seen many others in operation, and now believe that my position of comparative detachment at Boston Spa is in fact an advantage in as much as it aids a clearer view of the many and often complex problems which beset the provision of information services to universities.
Towards Informatics 2
Authors: Jones Kevin P.
Published: February 2008

What is informatics? First it must be confessed that it seemed to form an excellent conference label. In this respect it may be compared with linguistic confections, like Infochem and Infofair. Too many meetings are burdened with over‐long titles peppered with prepositions—was it a conference on…, or a symposium in…? Further, informatics appears to be acceptable in a wide variety of European languages: it could be argued that its adoption for the Co‐ordinate Indexing Group's annual conference was their modest contribution to European unity.
Information services for the construction industry
Authors: Groeger Rudolf G.
Published: February 2008

Before talking about information services for the construction industry, it is necessary to say a little about the importance of this industry in national terms. The activities of the construction industry are closely interwoven with our daily lives. Small private houses, office blocks, city centre developments, universities, roads, bridges and gigantic power stations all have to be built. It is an immense industry by any yardstick you may choose to employ—manpower, materials or money.
A contribution to the comparison of the usefulness of the data bases of Excerpta Medica and MEDLARS in biomedical literature retrieval
Authors: Verheijen‐Voogd Christina , Mathijsen A.
Published: February 2008

The results of searches on biological, medical and veterinary subjects by both the E.M. automated retrieval system and MEDLARS were compared. Of a total of 60 E.M. searches 23 were selected for the comparative study. Seven were eliminated because these needed specific terms not present in the MEDLARS terminology and 30 were omitted for other reasons. In 17 searches MEDLARS produced more relevant references than E.M. On the other hand in 12 searches the precision of E.M. was higher than that of MEDLARS. An average precision of 55 per cent was found for E.M. and of 38 per cent for MEDLARS. In 12 searches the cause of the failure to retrieve known relevant references was investigated. In MEDLARS 28 per cent was due to inadequate journal coverage and 72 per cent to indexing or searching failures (total 71 failures); in E.M. these percentages were 8 and 92 respectively (total 160 failures), the last percentage including an unknown proportion due to selective indexing of journal contents. Of 226 relevant references from E.M. and 467 relevant references from MEDLARS (the total retrieved in 15 searches), 94 references were duplicated. Recall figures were estimated: an average recall of 18 per cent was found for E.M. and 33 per cent for MEDLARS. Search strategies and indexing of overlapping references were compared. An estimate was made of the extension ratios of 12 searches. This measure averaged 1.9 for E.M. and 2.8 for MEDLARS.
Instant and accurate: organization of the BBC's information flow
Authors: Hewlett R.D.
Published: February 2008

On this Wednesday evening it will come as no surprise to you when I say that the BBC is on the air. Indeed, it would come as something of a shock, if I were to tell you that it is not! You will immediately think of BBC‐1 where Magic Roundabout is about to cast its spell. Or Radio 4 where William Hard‐castle is bringing listeners PM Reports; or Choral Evensong on Radio 3; or contrasting music on Radios 1 and 2. And then there's BBC Local Radio—in London with a programme about Local Government. But many of you, perhaps, would not immediately think of the BBC's External Services, nearly all of which are broadcast on short wave, the BBC World Service broadcasting in English for 24 hours a day and further services in 39 foreign languages on the air at different times of day and night. At this moment, for example, programmes are being broadcast from London in Maltese, Finnish, Roumanian, Persian, Arabic and German, while various World Service transmitters are carrying two separate programmes: a regional service for Africa and the mainstream for the rest of the world.
Danish official publications
Authors: Ejlersen Rita
Published: February 2008

It is a characteristic feature of Danish official publications that two typically ‘official’ publications, the official yearbook (Kongelig Dansk Hof‐ og Statskalender) and the national bibliography (Dansk Bogfortegnelse), although compiled by civil servants, are printed commercially.
Official publications of the German Federal Republic
Authors: Zoller‐Philips Georgette
Published: February 2008

Official documents in the German Federal Republic (a) Definition Official documents are all publications issued or commissioned by authorities and other public bodies.
Irish official publications
Authors: McKenna Brian
Published: February 2008

Modern Irish official publications date from the foundation of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. Pre‐1922 publications may be divided into two categories: papers of the Irish Parliament to 1800 and documents of the revolutionary First and Second Dáil, 1919–21.
Official national publications of the Netherlands
Authors: Oltheten Th. H.
Published: February 2008

In every modern State it is the Government's job to see that its citizens are properly informed on everything it is doing for their benefit and for the community in which they live and work. That is the object of making the Government's actions and activities known to the public. But publicity alone is not enough. Making facts generally known or generally accessible still does not explain why the measures concerned have been taken. Some explanation is needed of what lies behind policy decisions, so that the public can see what the consequences will be and how the measures implementing the policy will affect them. Maintaining a government information service used to be regarded as a right that the Government claimed for itself, the right to announce and explain its policy directly to the public. Nowadays, publicity and the provision of information are deemed to be a primary duty of the Government, a duty deriving from the right of the public to receive information, to know what is going on. There are two kinds of government information: active and passive. By ‘active’ I mean information that the Government provides on its own initiative, and by ‘passive’ information that is provided in response to a specific request.
A coordinate card index with a capacity of 200,000 documents
Authors: Crosby Timothy
Published: February 2008

Over the past two decades three main types of coordinate card indexes have come into use: the Uniterm index, the Optical Coincidence index, and the Edge‐notched index.
RAPRA—looking to the 80's
Authors: Dawson Dorothy R.
Published: February 2008

Changes in the rubber and plastics industries must, of necessity, be mirrored in the work of the Rubber and Plastics Research Association (RAPRA). Also a swing is taking place from income based primarily on member subscriptions coupled with a Government grant to the more commercial approach involving a reduction of grant coupled with the development of income from contract and consultative work. Such changes affect all departments of the Association and during the past ten years radical changes have taken place in RAPRA's approach to the management of information. This paper describes these changes, why they were necessary, and concludes with a brief look at areas still to be developed.
National and international publishing in relation to the dissemination of information in all disciplines
Authors: Black Michael H.
Published: February 2008

The situation for publishers and librarians in the 1970s is in sharp contrast with the 1960s. That was a boom decade: with expanding student numbers, new libraries founded, and money available for book purchase. Now inflation goes hand in hand with something very like recession: with insufficient money available in the public sector of book buying to accommodate rising costs. These, in 1974, are rising faster than ever: material costs and overheads are rising at an annual rate of something like 30% at this moment. These circumstances affect publishing generally, and academic publishing faces a crisis. This can be defined by saying that while the funds available dictate a cutback in new publication, the rise in overhead demands an expansion, otherwise new books will be so expensive that the demand for them will be even further depressed. What we shall see therefore is a complex evolution: some cutting back, some diversification, some expansion. Publishers will change their ‘mix’. These circumstances dictate which of the technological options get taken up. This is no moment for major changes demanding large capital outlay. By and large, therefore, the printed book is safe. But we shall see some modifications in the conventional ‘printed’ book. We shall also see ‘do it yourself’ publishing from sponsoring societies wanting to avoid the effect of publishers' overheads on prices of books with small print runs.
The primary scientific literature in the next few years
Authors: Cross L.C.
Published: February 2008

After some 300 years during which the primary research literature kept step with the demands made on it there is now growing awareness that changes will need to be made in order that the primary information system continues to fulfil its several functions and that adequate and economic relations are forged with secondary information services. The problems that now confront the research journals arise from the inflexibility and expense of the traditional publishing process compared with the need for infinite capability for selection from the resulting package we call a journal. Research is being conducted here and abroad to determine the methods of overcoming these problems. Primarily, this research follows two lines, the first to determine the desirable physical or reprographic form of the journal, and the second to establish the essential information content of the research paper and the most efficient and economic method of presenting that information. Finally, a forward view will be attempted of the new primary journal, of its place in the information system, and of its economics.
Microfiche preprints for conferences
Authors: Sheppard Margaret O.
Published: February 2008

A possibly novel application for microfiche is its use as the primary publication form for conference preprints. This concept is discussed with particular reference to its application at the Rotary‐wing aircraft symposium organized by the Institution of Engineers, Australia and Royal Aeronautical Society and held in Melbourne, Australia, 24th September 1973. A questionnaire seeking to ascertain user reaction to the microfiche preprints was circulated to 119 people who attended the symposium and/or received copies of the preprints. The responses to this questionnaire have been analysed and user acceptability of microfiche preprints of postprints has been investigated in relation to timeliness, accessibility of a microfiche reader/printer, prior awareness and use of microfiche, cost, and the effect of form on preprint reading habits.
The resources of the British Library
Authors: Hookway H.T.
Published: February 2008

The British Library has been in existence for just over one year. It is organized in three operational divisions—reference, lending and bibliographic services—together with a central research and development department. The new library includes the former British Museum Library, National Reference Library for Science and Invention, National Lending Library of Science and Technology, National Central Library, British National Bibliography and the Office for Scientific and Technical Information. It has been planned to be at the hub of the United Kingdom's library services. The now important activities of the Library are described and an indication given of how these activities help to make the services of other libraries and information services more effective.
Access to information from the USSR and Eastern Europe
Authors: Walker G.P.M.
Published: February 2008

Western users of information from and about the area: types and characteristics. Sources of published information in the area: organisation and control of publishing activity, volume and peculiarities of published output. Unpublished and semi‐published information. ‘Uncontrolled’ sources of information. Access to information: the indigenous tools for access and the Western‐based information‐processing efforts which index, abstract, translate and interpret. Problems of access to special types of information: political and economic, technical and scientific, commercial and academic. Acquisition and handling of information from the area by Western libraries and information services: distribution and adequacy of provision.
The need for versatility in a small research library environment
Authors: Lowndes Shirley , Sharp Ian
Published: February 2008

The need for change in the management and administration of libraries is now well recognized. Current thought seems to be largely devoted to systems analysis and streamlining of traditional library functions. Foskett, however, puts forward a view that libraries ‘are not closed and static systems, but must continually develop in relation to their environment, must be prepared to change the organization of their various parts in order to survive and fulfil the purpose for which they were created’. We endorse this view whilst stressing the need for the research library to be willing to expand its function to that of a system of communication as well as information. In fields of pure research which depend upon the rapid exchange of current knowledge it is necessary for an equal emphasis to be placed on both inward and outward communication. Providing the most useful service to scientific users within the confines of a stated number of staff and a restricted amount of money leads to a necessity for versatility in the staffing of such services.
The costing of library systems
Authors: Clements D.W.G.
Published: February 2008

Libraries, like other organizations, are bodies trying to achieve certain objectives within set financial constraints and it is desirable that they operate as effectively as possible trying to achieve their objectives. Many libraries and information services have been developed on the understanding that they are ‘a good thing’ and this offers considerable scope for confusion about operating objectives and justification of the library's existence. It is therefore essential that the overall objectives of the library and information service are defined as far as possible and that progress towards these objectives is measured and monitored. The definition of objectives need not be difficult and indeed consideration of a ‘Management by Objectives’ approach could be of use in helping to define meaningful objectives. The hard core of any system that aims at measuring and monitoring progress towards stated objectives is costing. It is therefore essential that libraries are familiar with problems of costing and with the handling of financial information because it is of use in controlling day‐to‐day operations, in improving overall effectiveness, in ensuring an adequate and effective case is made out for the library or information budget and in planning for the future.
Central Electricity Generating Board R&D information services
Authors: Mullins P.R.
Published: February 2008

In a paper of this nature it is difficult to avoid presenting a catalogue in the what we do in our …' vein. Yet any claim to usefulness will probably lie in providing an outline of the service for comparison purposes and, incidentally, in showing possible areas of co‐operation with other information units. For that reason, before describing the information activities of the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), it may be appropriate to outline the structure of the British electricity supply industry, bringing out the position in it of the CEGB, and then to consider the organization of the Generating Board itself.
Time‐Factor classification
Authors: Moss R.
Published: February 2008

Orthodox library classification and cataloguing imply continuing and indefinite expansion of libraries and their buildings. This is no longer feasible. But ‘weeding’ of stocks is slow and labour‐costly. However, a simple subsidiary classification by year—‘Time‐Factor’—recorded on both book and catalogue entry will enable subsequent relegation of books to store to be made without any catalogue amendment. Relegation periods can be varied for different subjects. The method offers opportunities of devising regional, specialist and national storage policies for libraries.
A World Information System for the social sciences
Authors: Adam Ralph
Published: February 2008

A summary of the report of the Unesco meeting of experts on the problems and strategies of incorporating the social sciences into the world science information system (UNISIST) is given, followed by discussion of the implications for social scientists, as users of information services, of some of the proposals put forward at that meeting. In particular, the problems involved in standardizing terminology for thesauri and other bibliographical facilities, and the advantages which are likely to be derived from common standards of data collection are discussed.
Who does the work? Observing library activities
Authors: Thomas Pauline A.
Published: February 2008

Who does what is a deceptively simple question with which to begin an analysis of library operations. An answering comment on a questionnaire I used recently was that ‘some people seem to do just as they like, and for all an analyst's delight in identifying and labelling systems, sub‐systems, procedures, activities, tasks etcetera and so forth, I suspect basically, in the library context, as in other organizations, many people do more or less just as they like.’ In spite of systems studies, O & M, MbO, PPBS, OD and other snappy or not so snappy acronyms for management anxiety about organizational effectiveness, each newly labelled technique includes hints about the difficulty of actually implementing the recommendations made. There is always the ‘human factor’ that can make or mar the most elegantly designed system.
Cases in financial management
Authors: Dobbins Richard
Published: February 2008

Readers are invited to study three cases in finance and accounting and compare their own proposals with solutions suggested by the writer. Case 1 is a capital budgeting problem, Case 2 an exercise in the application of marginal costing, and Case 3 an exercise in the presentation of a cash budget.
The hidden literature: the scientific journals of industry
Authors: Drott M. Carl , Carbo Bearman Toni , Griffith Belver C.
Published: February 2008

A study of 266 little‐known technical house journals in the US, UK and France is described. Methods of journal selection, location, and bibliographic control are discussed. A sample of technical articles from the journals was searched in abstracting and indexing services to determine their coverage and the extent to which such materials are prepublished or republished in standard periodicals. It was found that, although there are a significant number of technical articles published in house journals, the coverage of this literature in secondary sources is very low, and the literature is rarely included in standard periodicals.
Technical Note The management of periodical subscriptions in the science section of the University Library, Durham
Authors: Woodward W.B.
Published: February 2008

The Science Library (S.L.) serves 12 departments of the University, the subject interests fall in areas of the physical, life and social sciences. Some 170 staff, 300 research students and 2,000 undergraduates expect the library to provide access to periodicals of interest to them. The intention is to hold in the S.L. those titles which will satisfy the largest possible proportion of the demand. The sum of money allocated to the S.L. for periodicals in 1974–75 is £25,600 and this will buy some 900 serials of all types. Rather more than 200 additional tides will be acquired by gift or exchange. A major problem facing the S.L. is well known to the majority of librarians and can be expressed in this way. The number and cost of subscriptions that might be placed increases, the number of readers and their demands increase, but the money allocated does not increase at an optimum rate. We cannot satisfy the highest possible proportion of the demands made unless some form of management is practised.
Trade associations and the services they provide
Authors: Adler L.S.
Published: February 2008

It is always useful at the beginning of any discourse to define the subject under discussion. I should therefore like to start by defining what a trade association is. This may seem a little superfluous but experience shows that there is considerable diversity of opinion not only on what a trade association is but also on what it does. This in itself is not surprising because associations differ in type, function and size, depending upon their history and the nature of the industry or business group whom they represent.
Inter‐governmental developments in scientific and technical information
Authors: Gray John
Published: February 2008

Co‐operation between governments on scientific and technical information is normally at three levels: the development of national policies, the creation or improvement of systems and services, and the establishment and acceptance of standards for systems and services. Regional organizations such as the European Economic Community and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance can be interested in all three; the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development is primarily interested in the first; specialist organizations such as the European Space Agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Food and Agricultural Organization are mainly interested in the second, though they can contribute to the third; Unesco is primarily concerned with the first and third and in technical assistance. In promoting co‐operation each organization seeks to benefit its members, who are of limited number in the regional organizations and in OECD but are world wide in the UN agencies and therefore composed mainly of developing countries.
Provision of information and advice for the protection of health and safety at work
Authors: Locke John H.
Published: February 2008

Governments of all major industrialized communities are steadily extending the areas in which they seek to regulate the day‐to‐day activities of ordinary people. This raises important problems in ensuring that people know what is being required of them. I shall in this paper be describing these problems as we see them in the new Health and Safety Executive (HSE). But after spending thirty years in various jobs in the public service I am sure that the problems facing us are similar to those which arise in many other fields.
Education for information and library work
Authors: Bottle R.T.
Published: February 2008

In the last few years there has been a marked widening in the employment possibilities for information scientists. Apart from the traditional outlets in special libraries and in information departments in the science based industries, they have been recruited by local government planning departments, accountants, merchant banks, specialist publishers, law firms, etc. Even with the traditional employers their range of activities has increased. In the pharmaceutical industry, for example, this trend has been catalysed by the 1968 drug registration legislation. Furthermore, work such as Dr Stevenson has just describedi is slowly bearing fruit and producing a more information conscious clientele.
The changing school library service
Authors: Wood Kenneth
Published: February 2008

Higher education, government, international agencies, technology and science—these have been the content of papers so far. But the need for information extends downwards as well as upwards and I want now to step down the ladder as it were and look at what is taking place in schools, primary, secondary and middle. Or to be more specific to examine some changes in school librarianship and in particular what is happening in the resource‐providing agencies which have grown up to meet the ever widening demands for recorded information in teaching and learning. These demands are now as much visual as verbal and it is reasonable to expect that the present generation of students will begin to look for the multi media provision they have grown accustomed to at school to be reflected in their local public library or through the organization for which they work.
Information, education and entertainment
Authors: Rayner Edward
Published: February 2008

Two of the first questions I was asked to decide when preparing this paper were these: did I want to use visual aids (they asked the BBC); and what did I want to call it. A letter the Association sent to the BBC said this about the first: ‘The main purpose of using visual aids is to communicate information more effectively than is possible by speech alone.’ From that day on, we have hidden the letter from our colleagues in BBC Radio. And I want to speak on behalf of them, as well as Television.