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Editorial commentary on contributions received
ht. Libr. Rev.
(1969) 1,305-308
Editorial Commentary on Contributions Received G. CHANDLER? Because International Library R&&w is multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary in its aims, it gives a bird’+eye view of international co-operation by publishing broad reviews of progress and special articles relating to all aspects of international librarianship, bibliography, documentation and information science. In this issue the contributions are grouped in the main by type of library. The first two articles on automation and UNESCO are of general interest and are followed by contributions relating to public libraries, children’s libraries and special librarianship. Within the groups the contributions come from varied sources and illustrate the common interest of different types of institutions in developing an international approach, whether this is worldwide or restricted to a linguistic group, or to a group united by common social institutions. The contributions illustrate also the necessary proliferation of special groups to develop international work in special fields, e.g. the Committee on Mechanization of IFLA. The Committee on Mechanization was founded in 1965 during the Helsinki IFLA Council. One of the main aims of the Committee has been to survey the development of library automation in individual countries. G. Pflug and W. Lingenberg have published a survey in German of U.S.A. automation. The Committee on Mechanization has also taken an active part with the National and University Libraries Section of IFLA in studying the Shared Cataloguing Programme. The survey of West German automation in April 1968 was based on a questionnaire drawn up by the President of the Committee on Mechanization of IFLA, Gunther Pflug. The answers were analysed by its secretary, Walter Lingenberg for the 1968 Frankfurt IFLA Council. Another notable paper prepared for the 1968 Frankfurt IFLA t Honorary Editor, International Library Reuiew,
23 Dowesfield Lane, Liverpool L18 3JG.
0 1969 by Academic Press, Inc. A
306
G.
CHANDLER
Council under the auspices of the Committee on Mechanization was by R. H. Parker, a prominent pioneer of automation in the U.S.A. This paper is printed first in this issue because it surveys in general terms the implications of automation for library co-operation and thus affects all types of libraries and information agencies. If automation will eventually enable information to be transmitted on the spot to almost any place in the world, the traditional differences between various types of libraries, which in some respects are already being bridged, will be reduced further. Hence the UNESCO survey of the recommendations of various international and other conferences on the functions of school, public, university, national and special libraries may be primarily historical in its future value. The UNESCO survey was prepared for the Expert Meeting on Planning National Library Services in Asia, 1967, but the working documents prepared for the experts reveal that UNESCO was already inquiring whether all the traditional types of library should be separately established. Since then, various national investigations have stressed the need for closer co-operation between different types of libraries and there is pressure on the grounds of efficiency and economy for libraries to be established to serve various functions. The increase in further education and the advent of automation is rapidly removing some of the traditional differences between public, academic and national libraries. A large city library in, say, Great Britain or the U.S.A. is closer in many aspects of its work to the national library of a smaller country than to the traditional public library. Hence it is vital that IFLA continues its present policy of organizing councils to discuss all aspects of librarianship, so that there can be maximum cross-fertilization between libraries w&h similar problems, although historically they have been grouped into types which are becoming less and less relevant. In spite of the growing interdependence of libraries, library legislation in various countries is often related to specific types of libraries, but increasingly there is a need for composite legislation covering all types. For instance, the national library in Great Britain has been recently affected by the new British Museum Act of 1963, while public libraries were dealt with by the Public Libraries and Museums Act of 1964. The subsequent investigations on the British library service have revealed the need for a national library service to stimulate all types of library. Library legislation has recently been revised in a number of other countries. The Public Libraries Section of IFLA, whose President E. Allerslev Jensen is an honorary contributing consultant of the International Library Review, has rightly seen the need to survey this legislation at the IFLA Councils. In this issue are published two of the surveys
EDITORIAL
COMMENTARY
307
prepared for the 1968 Frankfurt IFLA Council. These relate to Quebec and the Republic of Ireland, which share in common the desire of a small national community to retain its identity in an area strongly influenced by Anglo-Saxon traditions and language. The public library can be looked upon as an important medium for preserving national ways of life and culture. In this issue appears also contributions prepared for one of the Children’s Libraries Sub-section of the Public Libraries Section of IFLA. The contribution from Walter Scherf, Director of the International Youth Library, Munich, was delivered during the 1968 Frankfurt IFLA Council. A working party on training children’s librarians which preceded the IFLA Council. Miss M. Bagshaw, honorary contributing consultant of the International Library Review, attended both meetings and has obtained permission for the publication of the contributions, together with a study of the Dutch Book and Youth Bureau. All these contributions are striking evidence of the emphasis placed by librarians in various countries on the production of good children’s literature rather than Qn technical problems of children’s librarianship. The contributions relating to special librarianship in this issue were submitted by five different honorary contributing consultants to International Library Review. Cecil Hobbs, Head of the Southern Asia Section of the Library of Congress, has written a special article on South-east Asia archival materials. Mrs M. Rudomino, Director of the All-Union State Library of Foreign Literature, Moscow, has forwarded some interesting personal remarks on her library which were published in Soviet Union together with photographs of herself and of the new building of her library which was opened in 1967. Mrs G. V. Matveyeva’s survey of the bibliographical activities of the All-Union State Library of Foreign Literature was prepared for the Special Libraries Section of IFLA during the presidency of Dr K. A. Baer, also an honorary contributing consultant to International Library Review. A. E. Gropp’s survey of the bibliographical activities of special libraries in Latin America was submitted to the 1968 Frankfurt IFLA Council and is printed with the permission of Mr Gropp and Dr Baer. W. L. Saunders, Director of the Postgraduate School of Librarianship and Information Science of the University of Sheffield, contributes a shortened version of a select annotated list of English language and literature serials, which was prepared by one of his students under the direction of F. S. Stych, specialist in bibliography at the School. This select list follows on the select annotated lists of German and French periodicals which were published in earlier issues of this review. They fill a gap in the bibliography of periodicals.
308
G .
CHANDL.ER
K. W. Humphreys surveys the information services to industry and commerce of general university libraries. As the survey makes clear, information science has not yet established itself firmly in general libraries. The survey was prepared for the 1968 IFLA Council under the auspices of the University Libraries Sub-section.
(1969) 1,305-308
Editorial Commentary on Contributions Received G. CHANDLER? Because International Library R&&w is multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary in its aims, it gives a bird’+eye view of international co-operation by publishing broad reviews of progress and special articles relating to all aspects of international librarianship, bibliography, documentation and information science. In this issue the contributions are grouped in the main by type of library. The first two articles on automation and UNESCO are of general interest and are followed by contributions relating to public libraries, children’s libraries and special librarianship. Within the groups the contributions come from varied sources and illustrate the common interest of different types of institutions in developing an international approach, whether this is worldwide or restricted to a linguistic group, or to a group united by common social institutions. The contributions illustrate also the necessary proliferation of special groups to develop international work in special fields, e.g. the Committee on Mechanization of IFLA. The Committee on Mechanization was founded in 1965 during the Helsinki IFLA Council. One of the main aims of the Committee has been to survey the development of library automation in individual countries. G. Pflug and W. Lingenberg have published a survey in German of U.S.A. automation. The Committee on Mechanization has also taken an active part with the National and University Libraries Section of IFLA in studying the Shared Cataloguing Programme. The survey of West German automation in April 1968 was based on a questionnaire drawn up by the President of the Committee on Mechanization of IFLA, Gunther Pflug. The answers were analysed by its secretary, Walter Lingenberg for the 1968 Frankfurt IFLA Council. Another notable paper prepared for the 1968 Frankfurt IFLA t Honorary Editor, International Library Reuiew,
23 Dowesfield Lane, Liverpool L18 3JG.
0 1969 by Academic Press, Inc. A
306
G.
CHANDLER
Council under the auspices of the Committee on Mechanization was by R. H. Parker, a prominent pioneer of automation in the U.S.A. This paper is printed first in this issue because it surveys in general terms the implications of automation for library co-operation and thus affects all types of libraries and information agencies. If automation will eventually enable information to be transmitted on the spot to almost any place in the world, the traditional differences between various types of libraries, which in some respects are already being bridged, will be reduced further. Hence the UNESCO survey of the recommendations of various international and other conferences on the functions of school, public, university, national and special libraries may be primarily historical in its future value. The UNESCO survey was prepared for the Expert Meeting on Planning National Library Services in Asia, 1967, but the working documents prepared for the experts reveal that UNESCO was already inquiring whether all the traditional types of library should be separately established. Since then, various national investigations have stressed the need for closer co-operation between different types of libraries and there is pressure on the grounds of efficiency and economy for libraries to be established to serve various functions. The increase in further education and the advent of automation is rapidly removing some of the traditional differences between public, academic and national libraries. A large city library in, say, Great Britain or the U.S.A. is closer in many aspects of its work to the national library of a smaller country than to the traditional public library. Hence it is vital that IFLA continues its present policy of organizing councils to discuss all aspects of librarianship, so that there can be maximum cross-fertilization between libraries w&h similar problems, although historically they have been grouped into types which are becoming less and less relevant. In spite of the growing interdependence of libraries, library legislation in various countries is often related to specific types of libraries, but increasingly there is a need for composite legislation covering all types. For instance, the national library in Great Britain has been recently affected by the new British Museum Act of 1963, while public libraries were dealt with by the Public Libraries and Museums Act of 1964. The subsequent investigations on the British library service have revealed the need for a national library service to stimulate all types of library. Library legislation has recently been revised in a number of other countries. The Public Libraries Section of IFLA, whose President E. Allerslev Jensen is an honorary contributing consultant of the International Library Review, has rightly seen the need to survey this legislation at the IFLA Councils. In this issue are published two of the surveys
EDITORIAL
COMMENTARY
307
prepared for the 1968 Frankfurt IFLA Council. These relate to Quebec and the Republic of Ireland, which share in common the desire of a small national community to retain its identity in an area strongly influenced by Anglo-Saxon traditions and language. The public library can be looked upon as an important medium for preserving national ways of life and culture. In this issue appears also contributions prepared for one of the Children’s Libraries Sub-section of the Public Libraries Section of IFLA. The contribution from Walter Scherf, Director of the International Youth Library, Munich, was delivered during the 1968 Frankfurt IFLA Council. A working party on training children’s librarians which preceded the IFLA Council. Miss M. Bagshaw, honorary contributing consultant of the International Library Review, attended both meetings and has obtained permission for the publication of the contributions, together with a study of the Dutch Book and Youth Bureau. All these contributions are striking evidence of the emphasis placed by librarians in various countries on the production of good children’s literature rather than Qn technical problems of children’s librarianship. The contributions relating to special librarianship in this issue were submitted by five different honorary contributing consultants to International Library Review. Cecil Hobbs, Head of the Southern Asia Section of the Library of Congress, has written a special article on South-east Asia archival materials. Mrs M. Rudomino, Director of the All-Union State Library of Foreign Literature, Moscow, has forwarded some interesting personal remarks on her library which were published in Soviet Union together with photographs of herself and of the new building of her library which was opened in 1967. Mrs G. V. Matveyeva’s survey of the bibliographical activities of the All-Union State Library of Foreign Literature was prepared for the Special Libraries Section of IFLA during the presidency of Dr K. A. Baer, also an honorary contributing consultant to International Library Review. A. E. Gropp’s survey of the bibliographical activities of special libraries in Latin America was submitted to the 1968 Frankfurt IFLA Council and is printed with the permission of Mr Gropp and Dr Baer. W. L. Saunders, Director of the Postgraduate School of Librarianship and Information Science of the University of Sheffield, contributes a shortened version of a select annotated list of English language and literature serials, which was prepared by one of his students under the direction of F. S. Stych, specialist in bibliography at the School. This select list follows on the select annotated lists of German and French periodicals which were published in earlier issues of this review. They fill a gap in the bibliography of periodicals.
308
G .
CHANDL.ER
K. W. Humphreys surveys the information services to industry and commerce of general university libraries. As the survey makes clear, information science has not yet established itself firmly in general libraries. The survey was prepared for the 1968 IFLA Council under the auspices of the University Libraries Sub-section.