British Industrial Libraries Before 1939

Marshall, Margaret Richardson

doi:10.1108/eb026533

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Industrial and scientific development and research began to expand significantly, creating the need for new information systems and services[2]. Although a few libraries had been established in commercial concerns (such as Levinstein's Dyestuffs and the United Alkali Company) as early as the 1870s, after 1914 company libraries began to proliferate in growing numbers, many basing themselves on American models (Marshall, 1972). Some companies, such as Metropolitan‐Vickers in Manchester, went further, creating research or “intelligence” bureaux which collected, analysed and disseminated technical and commercial data and information (Pearce, 1921).…”

Section: The Second Industrial Revolution and The Origins Of Aslibmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Science Museum Library, the closest Britain had to a central resource for scientific and technical information, had in 1920 about 125,000 volumes and a good international collection of periodicals, but it was yet to develop a loan service, and relied on a staff of only fourteen (Follett, 1978, p. 125). Issues such as these were raised at a series of meetings in 1918‐1919: a colloquium organised by the Faraday Society (1918); a meeting of Conjoint Board of Scientific Societies (1919); and a DSIR conference of newly formed Research Associations (1919) (Hutton, 1945, p. 6; Marshall, 1972, p. 113). At the first of these, a Faraday Society meeting on the theme of the Co‐ordination of Scientific Publication , speakers compared British information provision unfavourably with the specialist research libraries and documentation systems pioneered in late nineteenth century Germany, and also with the more recent proliferation of specialist libraries and information centres in US industry[4].…”

Section: The Second Industrial Revolution and The Origins Of Aslibmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A new history of ASLIB, 1924‐1950

Muddiman

2005

Journal of Documentation

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Purpose -ASLIB -the Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux -was founded in 1924 with the aim of co-ordinating the activities of specialist information services in the UK. This article seeks to present a new history of the first quarter-century of the Association. Design/methodology/approach -This is a historical study based substantially on two collections of primary documents: ASLIB's own records, held at Aslib Headquarters, London; and the papers of Edith Ditmas, held at the National Library of Wales. Findings -The paper explores the origins of ASLIB, and its roots in the "science lobby" of the time; it then traces the development of ASLIB as both a "national intelligence service" for science, commerce and industry, and as a quasi-professional association with international significance. It concludes that the first of these two functions was the Association's fundamental raison d'être.Research limitations/implications -The research is limited to study of ASLIB in the period 1924-1950 and an obvious continuation would be a history of "corporate" ASLIB . More generally, the paper reveals that the history of UK documentation and information science in the twentieth century is underexplored: there is scope for future research focused on key pioneers and ideas, as well as institutions such as ASLIB. Originality/value -As far as is known, this is the first historical study of ASLIB to be based on contemporary records: it should therefore be of value to both historians of information and library science and practitioners interested in their professional heritage.

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Section: The Second Industrial Revolution and The Origins Of Aslibmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Second Industrial Revolution and The Origins Of Aslibmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new history of ASLIB, 1924‐1950

Muddiman

2005

Journal of Documentation

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The future pattern of information services for industry and commerce

Scarfe

1975

Aslib Proceedings

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The origins of information and library services in British industry and commerce are not well documented, and are a difficult field of study for the historian: much early activity was spontaneous and informal, and therefore unrecorded, and the consequent difficulties of research in this field are well defined in Margaret Marshall's ‘British industrial libraries before 1939’. A major problem in gaining an overall view of the development of these services is the fact that only success stories are published in the professional press; it would be invidious to single out particular examples for comment, but a number of highly successful services have been summarily dissolved by management decision in the past decade. I have been unable to trace any published study on the causation underlying these decisions, and a vital element is therefore lacking in our appreciation of the past development of information services, but an awareness of previous successes and failures is a necessary condition of any attempt to predict their future.

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Forschungsberichte

1980

BIBLIOTHEK Forschung Und Praxis

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British Industrial Libraries Before 1939

Cited by 3 publications

References 2 publications

A new history of ASLIB, 1924‐1950

A new history of ASLIB, 1924‐1950

The future pattern of information services for industry and commerce

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