I am going to talk both as a user and a perpetrator of translations, since, in the Patent Department of the Mond Nickel Company Limited, the Information Section has to abstract…
Abstract
I am going to talk both as a user and a perpetrator of translations, since, in the Patent Department of the Mond Nickel Company Limited, the Information Section has to abstract and translate patents and other legal documents as well as technical and scientific articles from, and occasionally into, foreign languages. A large part of this work is done within the department but the incessant pressure, due to the necessity of working to definite dates—a very common problem in patent work—forces us to send out some work to outside translators. We have thus acquired a considerable store of experience on the economic or L.s.d. side of translation work.
Before we can establish whether anything can be learned from abroad, we must find out what services are available abroad. A recent survey by Frances E. Kaiser of the Georgia…
Abstract
Before we can establish whether anything can be learned from abroad, we must find out what services are available abroad. A recent survey by Frances E. Kaiser of the Georgia Institute of Technology enumerated no less than forty‐two translation pools in eleven countries showing that there are schemes in many countries, and quite a few in some countries, but only a few national schemes, notably in East Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and France. This survey does not include the translation pools in the USSR and Poland, about which far too little is known. Mr Patrick and Mr Goldstone have already spoken about the Aslib index, but it must, of course, be borne in mind that this index is duplicated in several Commonwealth countries, namely in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and South Africa. In view of the fact that their experience must perforce be rather similar to that of the British section of the index, I shall not discuss this any further.
Second Leslie Patrick Memorial Lecture presented in Birmingham on 8th November 1919 at a meeting jointly organized by Aslib Midlands Branch, the Birmingham Metallurgical…
Abstract
Second Leslie Patrick Memorial Lecture presented in Birmingham on 8th November 1919 at a meeting jointly organized by Aslib Midlands Branch, the Birmingham Metallurgical Association, and the College of Librarianship Wales. The role of the British Non‐Ferrous Metals Research Association, the Zinc Development Association and related bodies in the development of non‐ferrous information in Britain from the 1920s to the present day is viewed in relation to the information staff involved and the abstracting services provided. Future developments applicable to this field are viewdata services and video‐disc storage, and their potential is considered.
Published patent documents continue to pour out unabated. This overview looks at recent developments, including the continuing progress of the EPO, JPO and USPTO in working…
Abstract
Published patent documents continue to pour out unabated. This overview looks at recent developments, including the continuing progress of the EPO, JPO and USPTO in working towards automated search systems and document management, the efforts of WIPO in the area of standardisation within patent offices, the formation of OLPI, and the continuing growth of patent databases, e.g. ICI marques, Inpadoc, Japio and Patstat. The author also looks at the situation of information services in developing countries.
At a time when a greatly expanded volume of research is giving rise to a mounting flood of publications, and scientists are becoming increasingly aware of the difficulty of…
Abstract
At a time when a greatly expanded volume of research is giving rise to a mounting flood of publications, and scientists are becoming increasingly aware of the difficulty of keeping informed of all the work that may possibly be of interest to them, it is only natural that the literature on the problems and techniques of information work should itself grow rapidly. Not only is there an ever‐growing number of publications of library and documentation organizations, but as more and more scientists are faced with information problems and try to find solutions to them, relevant articles appear in the scientific and technical Press. The same set of conditions causes many people engaged in industry or research, with no training or experience in library or information work, to find themselves made responsible for the organization of information services at various levels, often in localities where there is no more experienced person to whom they can turn for advice. Such people can benefit greatly from the experience of others as recorded in the literature, but they often have difficulty in finding the papers that would be most helpful among the mass of other material, some of it irrelevant to their particular conditions, much of it too advanced or theoretical, quite a lot of it pure polemics, and some just bad. It is to meet the needs of these people that this series of reviews, now in its seventh year, has been designed. It attempts to pick out each year those items likely to be of direct practical help in running a small library or information service, especially for an untrained person. Advanced research work and theoretical discussions, however important, are ignored, as also are descriptions of practice in large libraries, unless they are capable of easy application in smaller organizations. Important bibliographies and works of reference are covered, including some of the more expensive ones which the librarian of a small organization may wish to know about and consult in other libraries, although he would not add them to his own stock. Items are not confined strictly to the publications of a particular year, though most of those chosen will have been received in British libraries during 1958. Those who have followed this series over the years will not fail to have noticed that the number of references included has increased. Even so, selection has become more and more difficult, and the final decisions as to what must be rejected are inevitably personal ones. Some injustice has possibly been done, but it is hoped that all the items included will prove of value to some of those for whom they are intended.
Miss Elizabeth Petree has been appointed Administrative Assistant to the Director of Aslib, and joined the staff in November. Miss Petree was Deputy Secretary of the College of…
Abstract
Miss Elizabeth Petree has been appointed Administrative Assistant to the Director of Aslib, and joined the staff in November. Miss Petree was Deputy Secretary of the College of General Practitioners from 1954 to 1964. She was earlier employed at the Royal Institute of International Affairs.
Few people would deny that the purchase and move into Aslib's new headquarters was a matter of very great importance but I believe that the increased grant made to Aslib by the…
Abstract
Few people would deny that the purchase and move into Aslib's new headquarters was a matter of very great importance but I believe that the increased grant made to Aslib by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research is of even greater potential importance. During the last five years the grant had been a maximum of £7,000 a year but the new grant, starting in January 1959, would be £12,000 a year, conditional on Aslib raising £15,000, with a further £100 for every extra £100 raised up to a maximum of £18,000.
K C Harrison, City Librarian of Westminster since 1961, is to be next year's President of the Library Association. For three years, until 1939, he was Branch Librarian in Coulsdon…
Abstract
K C Harrison, City Librarian of Westminster since 1961, is to be next year's President of the Library Association. For three years, until 1939, he was Branch Librarian in Coulsdon and Purley and in sequence was then Borough Librarian of Hyde, Cheshire; Hove; and Eastbourne; and Chief Librarian of Hendon before taking up his present post.
An introductory course for graduates entering information or special library work, and other persons put in charge of library or information departments without previous…
Abstract
An introductory course for graduates entering information or special library work, and other persons put in charge of library or information departments without previous experience, will be held at Aslib from 30th October to 3rd November 1961. Lectures will introduce students to the basic principles governing the handling of information, and acquaint them with some of the practical details of the operation of an information service or library. There will be a practical session and a discussion session, and visits to a number of libraries and information departments, including Aslib library and information department, have been arranged. The lectures will be given by the Education Officer, Mr Jack Bird. The fee for the course will be £10. Further details and application forms can be obtained from Aslib.
The National Lending Library for Science and Technology was formally opened on 5th November by Lord Hailsham, Minister for Science. About two hundred people were present. They…
Abstract
The National Lending Library for Science and Technology was formally opened on 5th November by Lord Hailsham, Minister for Science. About two hundred people were present. They included Sir Harold Roxbee Cox, Chairman of the DSIR Research Council, Sir Harry Melville, Secretary of DSIR, and many of the DSIR senior staff. Several of those who have played a pioneering part in promoting the establishment and growth of national scientific libraries were present including such well‐known figures as Professor R. S. Hutton and Mr Max Nicholson. Lord Hailsham in his address called the library ‘one of the wonders of modern Europe’. After the opening ceremony the visitors toured the library which was in full operation. This at present involves the dispatch of about seven hundred loans a day. Aslib sent a congratulatory Telex message to Dr D. J. Urquhart, Director of the library, and was represented at the opening ceremony by the Director of Aslib.