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The social services have seen big developments in recent years. The reorganization of local authority departments and the concept of corporate planning as outlined by the Bains report have created situations of growth and organizational change, and these in turn have given rise to new information problems.

I would like first of all to thank the Aslib Social Sciences Group for inviting me to address this conference and I welcome the opportunity of discussing the library and information problems that I experience in political science, not only with fellow social scientists, but particularly with members of the library profession. Because of the nature of political science, as I see it, I want first to say something about the relationship between the various social sciences, then to define politics more specifically (since I regard this as essential in considering the topic), and finally to discuss the sources and the problems they present. In company with Professor Swann, I regard myself as an amateur on the topic on which I am speaking. This being so, I will not try to provide a comprehensive or exhaustive list of primary sources in politics, but endeavour to outline the types of sources and illustrate these from my own experience.

During the next few months the British Library will come into being, integrating the nation's central reference, lending and bibliographic services. While the sciences and humanities have had full consideration in the past, little special attention has been given to the social sciences. The Aslib Social Sciences Group thought that a conference would provide a useful forum for reviewing the present situation in all these areas, and for considering in what direction the services should be developed. Accordingly, a two‐day conference on ‘The British Library and the social sciences’ was held at the University of Bath from 4th to 5th March 1972. The conference was fully subscribed, with sixty‐two persons attending (indeed, the demand was greater than the number of places). Most of the papers are gathered together in this issue, some of them in shortened form. The final ‘Summary and Conclusions’ is intended not only as a statement of the views of the Conference, but as a policy document which can be drawn to the attention of appropriate bodies.

I want to start by thanking the Committee for giving me the honour of presenting the first paper to the newly formed Aslib Social Sciences Group. This coincides with the uneasy lull between publication of the Report of the National Libraries Committee and the Queen's Speech to Parliament. We do not know yet if the Government intend to legislate for the new national library structure which the Dainton Committee say we should have. What we do know is that a Dainton‐based Bill might well turn out to be a lost opportunity for the social sciences.

The Aslib Social Sciences Group has been discussing the problems of information and library services in social welfare since early 1970, at first through ad hoc groups of varying size and composition (librarians, information officers, social work researchers, practitioners and academics) and later through a formal Working Group, reporting to the main committee.

September TUE.8. Aslib Chemical Group/Technical Translation Group Joint Evening Meeting. ‘Technical translations: meeting the need’, by Paul H. Scott (BP Research). Aslib. 5 for 5.30 p.m.

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.

The Aslib Social Sciences Group was established in 1969 to promote the study of two distinct subject areas: (a) the bibliography and handling of the literature of the social sciences; and (b) the application of social science methods to librarianship and information work. The major effort of the Group has, rightly in my opinion, been centred on bibliographical issues; the aim of investigating the social sciences for their relevance to librarianship has been served by two excellent papers, on the relevance of psychology and politics to librarianship. I want to try to add to the valuable insights of these two papers by looking at the potential contribution of a sociological perspective to our understanding and effectiveness as librarians. I am using the definition of sociology used in Worsley's introductory textbook: ‘A way of looking at man's behaviour as conditioned by his membership of social groups.’

Man, although generally described as a social animal, is not particularly well equipped for co‐operating with his fellows. Co‐operation implies willingness to surrender some freedom of action in order to promote the common good of the group, and although we exhibit this kind of behaviour throughout our lives, we do so only in response to pressures which are such that any other form of conduct would be intolerable.

Aslib is due to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its foundation in 1974, having been created at Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire in October 1924.