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It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields but who have a common interest in the means by which information may be collected and disseminated to the greatest advantage. Lists of its members have, therefore, a more than ordinary value since they present, in miniature, a cross‐section of institutions and individuals who share this special interest.

Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).

THE provisional programme of this year's L.A. Conference at Southport on September 20–23 is now in our hands. The theme, the library and the community, is the perennial one for our conferences and, in that, is blameless ; everything will depend on the handling of the subjects. No one who considers what is promised can accuse the Council of the L.A. of a partial view of the field, because whole areas are given representation in general sessions and if, as we expect from such writers as Messrs. R. O. MacKenna, W. S. Haigh, D. J. Foskett and F. C. Francis, the papers have the requisite range, the Proceedings will prove to be a comprehensive Statement of library practice today. All are well‐tried speakers and amongst them we anticipate, for example, a model paper from Mr. Haigh, who was frank in his view of the endurance required of the listeners at Hastings. The gifted Editor of The Assistant Librarian, Mr. A. C. Jones, who, unfortunately for us all, is relinquishing that office, is to occupy the A.A.L. with the assistant librarian in the community, and county libraries are to be represented by papers by Mr. B. Oliph Smith and Mr. H. Thompson at their own Section meetings. University libraries again come into the picture at theirs with a discussion opened by Dr. L. W. Sharp. Mystery is suggested by Mr. B. C. Vickery's “Tower of Babel: the language barrier in science” which seems to indicate some form of Interglossa or, possibly, since he is an enthusiast for Dr. Ranganathan, that teacher's Meta‐language. It certainly would be an achievement if whenever a scientist used a word it could be made to convey the same thing in every reader's mind. The Youth Section will listen to that practical teacher and thinker, Mr. J. F. Wolfenden; and the Annual Lecturer on Wednesday, September 21, will be by Mr. J. L. Longland, the chief education officer of Derbyshire, whose co‐operative sympathy and support was no doubt of great service to Mr. Edgar Osborne in the organizing of the most fully co‐ordinate county service in this country. Five British “internes” will render account of their experiences in America, under the chairmanship of Mr. J. C. Harrison, we hope to the encouragement of others of us “to go and do likewise.” Nothing better for the creation of fresh enthusiasms and for a high international level of library practice in all its variants can be imagined than this prolonged employment in the libraries of other countries ; every librarian should encourage it to the limit of his means and feel, as we do, gratitude to Messrs. Sydney and Harrison for acting as the selection committee so far as British candidate “internes” are concerned.

Bookings for the Conference at Edinburgh from 4th to 8th June promise to be heavy, and librarians and other delegates who have not yet made their bookings for accommodation are advised to lose no time in completing their arrangements, as accommodation is already tight. The Conference Programme promises well for a week of much interest, and it has been varied so that it should appeal to librarians not only in the town and county service but also in specialist libraries. The general sessions, and the more important of the Section meetings will be held in the Music Hall. Monday afternoon and evening will be devoted to the registration of delegates and to the opening of the exhibition at which publishers, booksellers and library specialists will show a wide range of their stocks and equipment. The Opening Session will be held on the morning of 5th June, under the Chairmanship of the President, Mr. James Wilkie. A welcome to the City and Royal Burgh of Edinburgh will be extended by the Rt. Hon. the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and this will be acknowledged by the President. The award of the Carnegie Medal will be made to Mrs. E. Vipont Foulds for her story The Lark on the Wing. This will be followed by the Presidential Address, which members will look forward with particular interest to hearing, and the Association's vote of thanks will be given by Mr. Robert Butchart, Principal Librarian, Edinburgh Public Libraries. In the afternoon members are invited to a Garden Party at Lauriston Castle, by the Rt. Hon. the Lord Provost. In the evening the Annual Lecture will be given by Mr. J. Murray Watson, Editor of the Scotsman, whose subject will be “The Book and the Newspaper”, followed by votes of thanks expressed by Mr. Charles Nowell, City Librarian, Manchester, and Dr. W. King Gillies of the Edinburgh Public Libraries Sub‐Committee on Books. On Wednesday, 6th June, the morning session will be addressed by Mr. J. W. Forsyth of Ayr on “The Scottish Public Library Service”, with Mr. Wilkie in the Chair; and it is greatly hoped that the Report of the Advisory Council for Education in Scotland, dealing with the Scottish public library service, may by that date be available for consideration. The afternoon and evening will be devoted to section meetings, at which the speakers will be Mr. F. A. Sharr of Manchester, Mrs. Naomi Mitchison, Dr. L. W. Sharp, Mr. W. B. Paton of Lanarkshire County Library, Mr. W. Pearson, Ministry of Town and Country Planning, Mr. E. Hargreaves of Leeds Public Libraries, Dr. A. J. Walford, and others. On the morning of Thursday, 7th June, the Annual General Meeting will be held, to be followed by an address by Mr. W. A. Munford of Cambridge Public Libraries entitled “New World Symphony”, which will deal with aspects of the library position in the United States. In the afternoon the University and Research Section will hear a paper by Mr. W. Beattie of the National Library of Scotland entitled “An Outline of Scottish Printing”. The Annual General Meeting of the County Libraries Section will be held at the same time, to be followed by a symposium under the title of “Looking Forward” to be contributed to by Mrs. Mary G. Brown, County Librarian of the Stewartry, Miss G. Jones, Buckinghamshire County Librarian, and Mr. G. Davies, Montgomeryshire County Librarian. This symposium should be one of much interest as county library policy is still unsettled in some regards. On the morning of Friday, 8th June, there will be a general session devoted to library service to industry and this will be a symposium with contributions by the Rt. Hon. the Earl of Elgin and Kincardine on “National Problems”, by Mr. F. C. Francis, Librarian of the British Museum, on “The Scientific Bibliographical Aspect”, and by Mr. L. R. McColvin, City Librarian, Westminister, on “The Public Library Aspect”. There will also be round table discussions for those interested in special aspects: these will be held on the afternoon of the Friday. The social side has been given due attention. Reference has already been made to the Garden Party at Lauriston Castle. The Annual Dinner of the Library Association will be held on the evening of Thursday, 7th June, under the Chairmanship of the President, and the Toast List is an attractive one, including Ald. Robertson, Chairman of St. Pancras Public Libraries, who will propose the Toast of the City and Royal Burgh of Edinburgh, to be responded to by the Rt. Hon. the Lord Provost. Other speakers will include Sir Alexander Gray, Miss J. A. Downton, Chief Librarian, Preston, and Mr. Eric Linklater. From this record it will be gathered that the members are going to be kept as busy as possible at the sessions; but the social occasions arranged for will provide opportunities for relaxation, and it may be that a large number of the delegates will want to avail themselves of the arrangements being carried through in connexion with the Festival, and to see shows and to visit the libraries and art galleries which in range are not equalled by any other city in Great Britain, apart from London. Had times been normal, the Association might have looked forward to having a large number of foreign delegates in attendance, as there are many of our colleagues across the world who may yet remember the banner year of 1927 when Edinburgh drew the library limelight of the world to the Conference scene.

This study explores auditors’ professional attitudes and behaviours. It tests the influence of public interest commitment, independence enforcement beliefs and organisational ethical culture on auditors’ acceptance of and engagement in practices that compromise their objectivity. The study is based on survey responses of 122 Spanish auditors. To analyse the combined effect of the variables under study, variance-based structural equation modelling (partial least squares, PLS) was employed. The results suggest that the regulatory efforts to improve auditors’ behaviours by enforcing independence rules have been internalised by auditors. The results also reinforce the need to instil the societal responsibilities of professional auditors, since auditors’ public interest commitment is related to their ethical decision making. Furthermore, this study reveals that firms’ ethical cultures influence auditors’ commitment to the public interest, as well as their ethical decision making. The study raises practical implications for auditing professionals, regulators and audit firms. Understanding auditors’ beliefs and behavioural patterns is critical to proposing mechanisms that enhance their ethical behaviours, which could ultimately enhance audit quality. The chapter contributes to the field by analysing the combined effect of the regulatory framework and organisational context on auditors’ professional values and behaviours.

THE summer is not a good time for writing editorials. In the first place it has been too warm, but more particularly, no matter how hot the topic at the time of writing, it will be cold as mutton before it eventually reaches its readers. Secondly our thoughts seem to have been devoted to anything except libraries: a little light reading perhaps, or a gentle discussion of next season's lecture programme? So now, not an editorial proper (or improper), but some editorial miscellany, beginning with the late but unregretted printing dispute. The LIBRARY WORLD has not been affected as much as some periodicals, and this issue makes its appearance only some three weeks later than planned. We have occasionally encountered comments which suggest that our journal is not anticipated each month with undue pleasure, and is quickly placed on the Chief Librarian's desk, from which honourable position its subsequent circulation is frequently delayed. Many libraries do not appear to have a professional journal circulation scheme, and this is a regrettable state of affairs. It is important that the younger members of the profession should be well informed about library affairs, and only the regular perusal of periodicals can achieve this. May we recommend that Chiefs institute and maintain a circulation programme in their libraries; we hear that it is much appreciated in those libraries which already do so.

Outside influences affect the progression of research in any discipline, including accounting. These influences offer one explanation for problems of replicability or comparability to previous studies, a common concern today. This article examines “who” participates in behavioral experiments and surveys involving accountants. This issue is important because of nontrivial differences in the composition of those in the accounting profession (and thus, participants in subject pools) over approximately 50 years of behavioral accounting research. Based on the theory of individual differences, we explore whether differences in the population of accounting research participants through the years could impact the replication or comparability of current-day research to earlier studies.

Our reading of available literature suggests that our profession has become more diverse in terms of gender and country of origin and that the oft-referenced characteristics of the millennial generation may also represent a distinct difference from previous generations of accountants. We discuss instances in which this changing nature of our profession, and thus our research population, could have implications for current-day behavioral accounting research.

THE whole agenda of the recent Conference had as its focus the motion for a reconstruction of the authority side of library service which formed the central and most exciting item of the Annual General Meeting. It is admitted that a new Libraries Act is needed and that such an act will be concerned with public libraries; but it should, we think, have some reference to the whole pattern of libraries, publicly owned, and not only to those of municipalities and counties. A conference in which all were represented could therefore appropriately deal with every branch of our work and did so, excepting only the commercial subscription lending library although distinguished representatives of these listened to the discussions.

The only comprehensive list of British medical libraries hitherto available has been that in The Aslib directory 1928, and there is an extended account of those in London in Reginald Rye, The students' guide to the libraries of London (3rd ed., 1927), pp. 362–77. The new list, here put forward, is intended to bring the information from those two books of reference up to date, after nearly twenty years. British libraries are briefly listed among ‘Medical libraries outside North America’ in the Medical Library Association's A handbook of medical library practice, ed. Janet Doe, Chicago, American library association 1943, chapter 1, appendix 2, pages 41–64. The meagre information in that list, if contrasted with the detailed documentation of American and Canadian libraries in successive issues of the American medical directory, accentuates the need for us to know ourselves better. Several, perhaps many, medical librarians have had to compile lists of kindred libraries for their own convenience. A list which I had thus prepared seemed to Aslib to offer adequate basis for a Directory of British medical libraries, and in order to complete it Aslib issued a questionnaire in the autumn of 1944 to libraries known to possess medical collections and to hospitals, medical societies, and medical institutions throughout the British Isles. The information obtained from the generous response to this questionnaire is epitomized in the list which follows. I am responsible for all omissions and errors and I hope that those who detect any will supply corrections and additions so that this preliminary list may be revised and become a definitive Directory.