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The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a theoretical framework for understanding information literacy (IL) within the context of a small business workplace environment. The theoretical framework developed related IL competencies to competencies for success as described by the psychologist Howard Gardner in his book “Five Minds for the Future”.

A theoretical framework was developed using the CILIP Seven Pillars for IL and Howard Gardner’s Five Minds theory. Indicative connections between the Seven Pillars and Five Minds were identified by the researchers. The framework was tested through analysis of transcripts from qualitative interviews conducted with four small business owners.

Connections were found between the Seven Pillars and the Five Minds; some which had been projected by the researchers and others which had not. The theoretical framework aided description of and understanding of IL within small business workplace environments.

A small sample size limits the generalizability of the findings, and further testing of the framework is required. The findings do, however, suggest that the context in which IL manifests remains significant and should be further examined in wider and divergent contexts.

Using theory from psychology paired with a well-known theory of IL to develop a new theoretical framework is novel. The framework developed offers a new way of understanding the role of IL within the context of small business workplaces.

Analysis of results from exploratory research into the attitudes of exporters of the food and drink industry of north‐east Scotland towards the value of foreign language skills suggests a certain degree of ambivalence, which, together with the lack of resources and available skills can explain the absence of systematic language strategies. It also demonstrates the case for a questionnaire survey focusing on the various aspects of international marketing communication in the context of that particular industry sector across Scotland. Findings provided information on a range of practices and attitudes as well as a better knowledge of the nature of communication barriers; the means and tools of international marketing communication; the context of use of foreign languages; criteria for export success, perception of the impact of the customer’s language use on marketing success; significance of skills for international marketing success; perception of impact of educational policies on opportunities in the global market.

The present climate in education is one of change with increasing emphasis on independent learning and resource‐based learning. The decisions facing today's youngsters will require that they know how and where to “find out” for themselves, whether it is where to collect the relevant form, how to locate a useful contact address or how to make sense of the wealth of information available in any particular field of knowledge. Central to this ability to think and learn for oneself is the ability to make the best use of available information.

This paper examines the relationship between research into the evaluation of the impact of library and information services, policy making in the field, and professional practice and education. The paper first summarises the background to a recent critical literature review undertaken on behalf of Resource: the Council on Museums, Archives and Libraries. The review was intended to identify any published evidence that Museums, Archives and Libraries are making a contributory impact to developments in the British Government’s key policy areas. Except in the field of learning, little supporting evidence was found. Methodological weakness undermined the validity of much of the related work identified by the review. After considering approaches to ensuring the impact of research on policy making, including a more appropriate publication strategy and greater face‐to‐face dialogue, the paper discusses the attitudes of LIS practitioners towards academic research and the need for closer collaboration. Finally, the paper speculates on some of the implications for LIS educators in developing future researchers better equipped to identify the contribution that libraries make, and more effective in influencing policy makers.

The purpose of this research is to explore UK teachers' use of research‐based information, with a particular focus on issues relating to access to information in schools, information literacy, and the role of the school librarian and school library services.

The study adopts a mixed methodology. In‐depth qualitative data gathered through vignette interviews (n=28), group exercises (four groups of between three and five teachers) and a discussion forum were supplemented by quantitative data gathered through surveys of teachers (n=312), head teachers (n=78), school librarians (n=78) and school library services (n=26).

Teachers' professional use of research information reflects a preference for predigested information and informal sources. Although professional bodies and government departments promote the use of research by teachers and provide a range of customised web sites for information, lack of ready local access to information and lack of time were cited as major barriers to the use of research information. Teachers also revealed uncertainties and lack of confidence in their own ability to find and evaluate such information. The findings suggest scope for more targeted provision by school librarians of both information and skills to support the professional development of teachers. However, this raises issues of priorities and resources, and needs to be seen in the context of a wider change in ethos supported by senior management. The study also raises questions about teachers' own experiences and approaches to the use of information in professional learning, and how this might impact on the provision of support for their pupils and the potential for collaborative working between librarians and teachers.

The qualitative aspects of the study provided a rich source of data from teachers with varying levels of experience and involvement with the use of research information. However, a low response to the teacher questionnaire survey (10.9 per cent, overall, 312 teachers) resulted in a bias towards more research‐oriented teachers in that particular data set. While the data from research‐oriented teachers do appear to triangulate, it is difficult to generalise to other teachers. Therefore teacher survey data have been treated with some caution and drawn on only to aid further understanding of the issues raised in interviews and group exercises.

In focusing attention on teachers' information behaviour and information literacy, this paper provides a new perspective on the issues affecting the lack of uptake of research evidence within the teaching profession, contributes to the literature on information behaviour and information literacy in professional contexts, and contributes to the understanding of factors which may have a bearing on the development of student information literacy in schools.

Discusses the findings of a study investigating the attitudes, perceptions and experiences of Scottish non‐profit environmental organisations and the costs and benefits of the Internet as a marketing and communications tool. Aims to ascertain whether the size of the organisation and the level of Internet use determines the perceptions and beliefs of non‐profit organisations within the environmental sector in Scotland and whether these factors also determines the costs and benefits experienced by Internet users. Finds that regardless of size or the level of use, organisations believe the Internet is a cost‐effective way to market their organisations and promote awareness. However, attitudinal factors affect the level of use by small organisations. Overall the organisations within the sample have indicated that the Internet is a low cost, high benefit marketing solution.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical discussion of the paucity of research on information behaviour of information providers and to propose a framework for investigating the emerging area of provider information behaviour.

The approach takes the form of a conceptual analysis and literature review.

A multidisciplinary framework is provided to form the basis of further exploration of provider information behaviour.

There are various types of information providers and they provide opportunities for exploring and comparing their range of information activities and developing models of provider information behaviour.

The paper argues for a new perspective to the study of information behaviour. The paucity of research on internal users of information has not matched those on external users of information over the years. An exploration of provider information behaviour together with its internal impact can provide insights which will help organisations better understand best practice, predict effects of new behaviours during periods of change and make informed decisions. It will also aid in the development of the teaching of information and library skills.

This literature review aims to provide a synthesis of key information available about the management of independent secondary school libraries in England and Wales. The review has been the foundation of a PhD research project that is investigating issues about the management of school libraries in English and Welsh independent schools.

The literature review covers both hard copy and electronic formats identified from accessing library catalogues, contacting relevant organisations and key players, conducting online databases and wider internet searches plus other elements of the literature search. The review is structured to address the literature about independent schools, their libraries, national and international guidelines for best practice on school librarianship, previous research, the role of the school library manager and select key current issues.

The literature review indicates that there is a substantial current literature about general school librarianship, much of which is relevant to the management of independent school libraries. However, the independent school library sector itself has not been widely researched and the published information about it is scant.

The literature review has largely focused on published information about general school librarianship where it impacts on independent school libraries. This is because there is little information specifically about the management of independent school libraries. Because each school library is different and is a reflection of its own school's culture, a general overview of the management of independent school libraries has not previously been produced. The review is a selective literature review, but identifies the key works relevant to the management of specifically independent school libraries.

The review has helped to structure and direct a PhD research project that is contributing to the literature and addressing some of the gaps in knowledge.

Literature on school librarianship tends to focus on issues that are topical at the time of publication. A review of the literature about the broader management of the school library is original. Also, a literature review that is relevant to the management of independent school libraries is unique. The review will be of value to the broader PhD research about the management of independent school libraries. It will be of particular interest and worth to independent school library managers, but also to general school library practitioners and those with an interest in the sector in the research, government and wider educational communities.

What is now known as the Canning Industry commenced on the 30th January, 1810, when Montalivet, the French Minister of the Interior, wrote to Francois Appert and informed him that his—Appert's—new process for preserving foods was assured of success and thereby granting to the process the official recognition of the French Government. Official recognition also carried with it a money grant of twelve thousand francs—about £500 in those days—Appert won this prize on the principle of “Delhi taken and India saved for one rupee eight annas”—and died in the year 1841 a comparatively poor man and the founder of one of the world's greatest industries. As a result of the warlike operations in which it had been engaged, multitudes of sick and wounded were thrown on the hands of the French Government, and scurvy was terribly prevalent in the fleets. Hence the French Government gave a public notice that it would award a prize to anyone who should discover a cheap and satisfactory method of preserving foodstuffs, without either drying or pickling, so that they could be kept for a long period and still retain the natural flavour and other characteristics of the fresh product. Appert had worked at and perfected his process during the preceding ten or fifteen years and had thoroughly assured himself of its practicability. He was therefore well prepared to demonstrate the details before the Board of Arts and Manufactures of which Board Gay Lussac had been a member since the year 1805. The report of this body to the Minister of the Interior was entirely favourable, as was also that of General Caffarelli, the Maritime Prefect of Brest. Caffarelli had found that soups and vegetables prepared by Appert's process had retained their goodness after three months' bottling, and he had been able to supply what seemed to the diners to be fresh vegetables in mid‐winter. It need hardly be said that Appert's process for preserving foods is the one in use now. Appert, however, knew nothing of the principles on which his process depended, nor did anyone else at that time. He supposed putrefaction to be due to the action of the air alone. In this view he was supported by the great authority of Gay Lussac who, it will be remembered, imagined atmospheric oxygen to be the cause. Appert at the request of the Minister of the Interior wrote a short book on the subject—a practical treatise explaining the methods of preserving animal and vegetable substances. This book was almost at once translated into several languages. It would seem that one of the chief advantages that Appert hoped the French people would gain by his invention was the saving of sugar. Up to that time the only means of preserving fruit other than by drying was to immerse the fruit in strong syrup made with cane sugar, and sugar was almost impossible to obtain in France at that time owing to war conditions. He also says that the French Government wished to draw “the utmost advantage from the productions of our soil in order to develop our agriculture and manufactures, and to diminish the consumption of foreign commodities” ! This is exactly what we in this country are trying to do now in the building up of a trade in canned food, a hundred and twenty years later. The English translator of Appert's work complacently observes:—

Reviews Douglas Anderson’s contribution to the development of research in the School of Librarianship and Information Studies, later renamed the School of Information and Media, at the Robert Gordon University. Against an explanatory background to the Scottish Higher Education system, it outlines Anderson’s work in information and image retrieval, his concern for the role of public libraries in serving the disadvantaged, and his commitment to enthusing students and others about progressive developments in the field.