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Most local government documents are produced for internal purposes, but better exchange of information is highly desirable. A recent study has investigated the production and control of local government documentation in the UK. The published output of all departments of five different local authorities was monitored over a period of six months. It was found that local authorities are a major source of publications, but that standards of production and inclusion of bibliographic details varied greatly. Policies on document status and deposit of copies were generally lacking, and coverage in the periodical press and in secondary sources was poor. A code of practice on production and deposit of documents, and perhaps the establishment of a national clearinghouse, are needed.

IN 1972 the Public Libraries Research Group (PLRG) was presented with a discussion paper on public libraries and long range planning. The group had recently published its public library aims and objectives statement and was looking for ways to assess future developments in these areas of management. Wennerberg in Sweden had just published a paper in the Unesco Bulletin on the Delphi technique as applied to special libraries, and reading this had stimulated the discussion paper. A search of the literature had revealed some references to the use of Delphi in industry, urban planning and professional areas such as medicine and higher education and, after considerable discussion, the group decided to accept the offer of the author and a colleague, Gordon Pratt, to attempt some research using this approach. The project organisers combined substantial and varied experience in a number of libraries with statistical knowledge and this combination proved to be highly desirable producing a truly multi‐disciplinary approach to the work.

There is a story of the tourist who, after a special package tour intended to show the British way of life, complained that he had not been shown the Church of England! I meet much the same situation when people ask me to show them the Library of the Polytechnic of Central London for it has seven separate divisions dotted around its fourteen buildings and to show it all involves a walk of several miles. Perhaps this is why the Winter Meetings Committee decided to ask me when they thought it time that some attention was focused on the problem of administering diffuse collections. I have been a member of that Committee myself and can imagine the discussion. First the doubt—‘but he hasn't been there very long’, then the hopeful—‘well at least he'll have had to think about it’, and that's another meeting as good as fixed!

A study of repository plans and practice has been carried out as part of the Universal Availability of Publications programme. The concept of a repository varies widely, but is generally equated with the storage, preservation and continued availability of low‐use material discarded by libraries through lack of space. Most repositories have a passive storage function rather than an active part in national interlending or acquisition systems, and relatively little attention has been given to them. Factors that influence the successful establishment of repositories include: the willingness and ability to transfer library stock; provision of buildings; the difficulties of managing repository stocks; relegation decisions; and user perceptions of their need for onsite access. Only nine countries were found to have co‐operative repositories, though many more had some storage facilities. Repository plans, but not their implementation, exist in some 12 countries. Australia, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic are currently developing national policies. It is concluded, however, that repositories suffer in general from being a long‐term need that is given low priority in relation to recent and more glamorous developments

Describes the initiation and execution of an innovative course on policy making and strategic management which was organized by a consortium of organizations working within the framework of the Library and Information Plan for Leicestershire. The course was aimed at senior managers in all types of UK libraries and was held at the University of Loughborough in August I991 and March 1992. The project was funded by the British Library Research and Development Department following an enquiry by Professor Robert Hayes which gauged the potential for a course similar to the Senior Fellows Program held annually at the University of California in Los Angeles. The course was supported by the library and Information Services Council (England) and evaluated by the CIPFA Education and Training Centre. It was generally agreed to be very successful and the Consortium, which includes Leicestershire County Council, Leicester University, Loughborough University, De Montfort University and Capital Planning Information of Stamford, is to be repeated in 1993.

With the increasing development of small firms, a greater emphasis is now being placed on their information requirements. Detailed official studies into the situation have revealed the deficiencies which appear to exist in meeting these requirements, especially in those agencies which specialise in servicing small firms. Recommendations for improvements are examined, the conclusion being that it behoves information specialists to address the special needs of small firms more sympathetically.

NBL branches ‐ The National Book League's pilot attempt to establish a regional branch, master‐minded by Peter Labdon and taking the form of the Ipswich & Suffolk Book League, is already judged sufficiently encouraging for the NBL to seek to spread the process elsewhere in Britain. To which end there has been published a booklet called Branching Out—setting up National Book League local branches: a working handbook, which is obtainable without charge from the Director, Martyn Goff, at the NBL, Book House, 45 East Hill, Wandsworth, London SW18.

There are many obvious dangers in attempting to pontificate in public on management. Not the least is that one is expected to practise what one preaches, especially if what one offers can be said to be, after all, only applied common sense! However, the fact remains that there is an urgent need for librarians to think about their problems—and how to solve them—systematically. Many of us are not in a position to arrange all our work for ourselves but we can always improve any situation to some extent. We may see some ways later in this paper. Actual results are hard to achieve, but it is certain that there is only one way to get them, and that is by effective management.

I DRAW, respectfully of course, the attention of the Chairman of the British Library Board to the fact that, notwithstanding his belief that the new BL building in the Euston Road will, in the fullness of time, upstage such other mighty institutions as the Library of Congress, the latter has in the meantime upstaged the BL.

NOW THAT the British Library is in being, it is up to the library community to consider whether it is playing its full role in the library life of the country. After all, the powers vested in it by the British Library Act are considerable. It is up to every librarian to work out and put forward his own ideas; I wish here to make two suggestions.