P.O'N. Hoey and P. Harris
The need to communicate information effectively to a diverse, technically based audience is discussed. The fange of media available is surveyed, extending from formal verbal…
Abstract
The need to communicate information effectively to a diverse, technically based audience is discussed. The fange of media available is surveyed, extending from formal verbal exchanges, through memos, computer printouts and films, to research reports. The importance of weighing required impact against costs is stressed. It is necessary to assess new office systems and communications methods as they become available, to identify relationships with existing proven operations and to consider the desirability of changing the latter. The influence of customers' changing needs and the problems in commissioning new systems while phasing out old ones are included. No one mode of communication is best for all users. Therefore a complete repertoire of systems should be developed in an information department and then the optimum medium sought for each user. This will ensure that vital information always reaches its target. Selective reference is made to the past and present methods used at J. Lyons, where it is possible to trace the evolution of the present Group Scientific Information Service from a small laboratory library over a 7‐year period.
Within the framework of the subject ‘promoting industrial library and information systems’ it is logical to examine the role which public relations plays. Public relations may be…
Abstract
Within the framework of the subject ‘promoting industrial library and information systems’ it is logical to examine the role which public relations plays. Public relations may be described as a short term solution but it should also be part of a long term strategy.
The following bibliography focuses mainly on programs which can run on IBM microcomputers and compatibles under the operating system PC DOS/MS DOS, and which can be used in online…
Abstract
The following bibliography focuses mainly on programs which can run on IBM microcomputers and compatibles under the operating system PC DOS/MS DOS, and which can be used in online information and documentation work. They fall into the following categories:
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Library offers a full range of library and information services to the Society's 42,000 members and the chemical community as a whole…
Abstract
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Library offers a full range of library and information services to the Society's 42,000 members and the chemical community as a whole. Computers were first used in the Library in 1977 for online searching. In 1987, the cataloguing and circulation modules of the Data Trek automated library management system were installed and in mid‐1988 a Novell network with four workstations was set up. By mid‐1989, an OPAC was in place and the card catalogue was only used for pre‐1986 items. In 1990, serials management and acquisitions modules together with three more workstations were added to the network; a CD‐ROM player was also installed. The paper gives details of this and related development work and also how a total file server disc crash was dealt with in early 1991.
Youhave heard two papers on different aspects of training in library and information units. The object of training must be to enable the individual to make a more effective…
Abstract
Youhave heard two papers on different aspects of training in library and information units. The object of training must be to enable the individual to make a more effective contribution to the total effort of the unit; it is logical to look beyond, to the impact of training and development, to the recognition of the result of greater effectiveness, and to the question of incentive and promotion. This is the purpose of this paper, to consider some aspects of these matters, and particularly the possibility of grading and assessment of library work, and their relation to staff recruitment, incentive, and promotion. It is proposed to look generally at principles of job evaluation for non‐manual work, to examine what special requirements there might be in the assessment of library and information staffs, and to outline the provisions of a scheme which could meet these requirements.
The Aslib Research Department was set up in 1959. Because of the difficulty of identifying the most significant problems and the need to establish appropriate experimental…
Abstract
The Aslib Research Department was set up in 1959. Because of the difficulty of identifying the most significant problems and the need to establish appropriate experimental techniques, it initially tried its hand using a variety of approaches. During the period 1959–64 a survey was made of some fifty industrial information/library units, using structured interviews to collect data; a questionnaire study of the literature‐searching methods used by research scientists was undertaken, and a number of library procedures and problems were quantitatively surveyed. These latter included delays in binding, borrowing costs, inter‐library loan patterns and the effectiveness of translation indexes. Another subject investigated during this same period was conference proceedings: duplication of publication, their lack of subject indexes, and their coverage by abstracting services.
Communication is really the essence of information science. The best information service in the world has no meaning unless it is used. So the information scientists and…
Abstract
Communication is really the essence of information science. The best information service in the world has no meaning unless it is used. So the information scientists and librarians must communicate with their users and sell their service.
It was originally intended that this paper should present a description of the traditional structure of an information service and an indication of how that structure changes as a…
Abstract
It was originally intended that this paper should present a description of the traditional structure of an information service and an indication of how that structure changes as a result of introducing external information services. Although during the writing of the paper this intention has been kept constantly in mind, the author has found it impossible not to stray into describing changes of function and the resulting changes in attitudes on the part of information worker and user. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the resultant changes in function and changes in attitude are still very much in a formative stage, and until they are reasonably crystallized it would be foolish to venture too far in discussing possible changes in structure. Secondly, formal organizational structures are becoming outmoded in modern management practice; informality and the highest degree of flexibility are the latter's key notes.
While working in a rural district library system, the question of planning library/information services to meet the needs of the population was always of foremost importance…
Abstract
While working in a rural district library system, the question of planning library/information services to meet the needs of the population was always of foremost importance. Community profiles of the region had been conducted continuously for ten years, and during the eleventh year it was decided to survey the entire area in a methodical way to search for the information needs of the population. The purpose of the study was to identify information needs in a specific rural area in Israel in order to design a plan for library/information provision to meet those needs. The study consisted of a literature search of relevant material on information needs in rural areas and less developed countries and a multi‐level field survey in one specific rural area of Israel.
I was asked to say something about the place of the information unit within the organizational structure and it was suggested that in making my contribution I should consider…
Abstract
I was asked to say something about the place of the information unit within the organizational structure and it was suggested that in making my contribution I should consider three particular areas: status, lines of communication between the information unit and other parts of the organization and relationship with management.