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Although working in academic library acquisitions departments since 1974, the first meeting I remember being organised specifically for acquisitions librarians was the first Alan Armstrong acquisitions conference in November 1982. Until then, acquisitions librarians in my experience had only occasional contact with each other and the book trade through visits to and from their suppliers, and by attending general library conferences and exhibitions. Interesting and enjoyable as the Armstrong conferences were, public sector librarians balked increasingly at the cost — particularly as cuts in funding took effect on library budgets.

Aslib celebrates its 50th birthday this autumn. Its director Leslie Wilson very kindly agreed to answer Alan Armstrong's questions about the Association and its future.

The 50th anniversary of Fox's Beyond Contract and Man Mismanagement coincides with another vital contribution to the sociology of work from 1974: Braverman's Labor and Monopoly Capital. This article analyses these two scholars' complementary approaches to job design and the extent to which Fox's ideas influenced subsequent labour process thought.

The article's methodological approach is a historiographical reading of Fox and Braverman's thought in the context of their times and later scholarship.

The article demonstrates that despite some noteworthy overlap with Braverman concerning scientific management, Fox's insights were marginal to later iterations of labour process analysis. It delves into the reasons for this relative neglect, providing an understanding of the dynamics at play.

This paper's value lies in its combined industrial relations and labour process historiography. It offers a fresh perspective on Alan Fox's relationship to the latter field of study.

YOU ARE probably wondering what has happened to Industrial Library News. In taking over from Alan Armstrong I should like to broaden the coverage of these columns to cover current technical and commercial library news in general. So if you feel that the services you run, committee you serve on or publications you produce would be of interest to others I should be delighted to hear from you at Lambeth Reference Library, Brixton Oval, London SW2 Tel: 01–274 7451 ext 32.

EVERY DAY, more and more external influences bear upon decisions taken inside companies. Our entry into the eec is the simplest example.

THE Institution of Chemical Engineers library has taken a bold step and is now marketing itself to non‐members as ‘The Information Centre for Chemical Technology’. The cost of a subscription is a modest £30 per year. This allows the corporate or personal subscriber 12 hours' use of the service. A record of all enquiries is kept, with answers given and time taken, so that a check can be made of use—and of the time remaining. For time used over and above the subscription period a charge of £3 per hour is made. These rates do not by any means represent the full cost of the service, since the institution is not a profit making organisation. The income will help develop and expand the library service to meet the proven need for technical information. Much credit is due to the librarian, in taking this commercial initiative inside an academic body. I hope the income derived will buy lots of books and even perhaps one day more staff. The centre is offering its first publication for sale, a thesaurus of 650 chemical engineering keywords with an associated 2,000 lead‐in words. Price £10. In preparation is a list of chemical engineering consultants. Details from 15 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PT. A booklet on the service is available.

WE ARE saturated with conferences, courses and seminars to the point at which over‐absorption has led to rejection. When one cannot see the wood for the trees the line of least resistance is not to attend anything.

A £350,000 duplication! This is what public librarians recently have been calling the DTI'S opening in April of ten regional information centres for small firms in industry. The department has been told to carry out certain Bolton report recommendations, and these ten information centres are the first implementation.

Not many weeks back, according to newspaper reports, three members of the library staff of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London were dismissed. All had refused to carry out issue desk duty. All, according to the newspaper account, were members of ASTMS. None, according to the Library Association yearbook, was a member of the appropriate professional organisation for librarians in Great Britain.