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As part of an investigation as to whether a national retrospective catalog conversion program is justified, presents a summary of the results of a survey of retrospective conversion programs in UK higher education libraries. The survey was conducted by the author in association with Philip Bryant of the University of Bath. Questionnaires were sent to 266 higher education libraries in the UK.

The development of Stage Two of the AMCOS Project which uses BNB MARC tapes as the basis of a fully mechanised ordering and cataloguing system has been progressing since December 1968. The paper by Russell Sweeney described the secondment of a teacher of librarianship to the library at AWRE Aldermaston for twelve weeks to take part in the development of computer programs for AMCOS Stage One. This present paper describes a similar exercise to involve a teacher in the programming for Stage Two.

Reports on a survey to discover which organisations were using records in the UKMARC format, the materials for which the format is being used and the processes/services which were supported by records created in the format. Presents selected results including size of monograph stock, use of databases for bibliographic records and creation of records in the UKMARC format. Results indicate that the UKMARC format is being used either in the acquisition or the creation of bibliographic records in about 50 per cent of all libraries that maintain a database of such records.

The 19th edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification was published in 1979 and will be the last edition to appear under the editorship of Benjamin A. Custer, the editor since the 16th edition, published in 1958. There is thus a suitable opportunity to review the evolution of the Classification over the past thirty years, and to indicate the likely developments in the 20th edition and beyond. This paper is not a literature review although reference will be made to pertinent contributions in the literature. There is a substantial body of literature on the Dewey Decimal Classification and the most recent portion is covered in two bibliographies.

As part of an investigation as to whether a national retrospective catalogue conversion programme is justified, presents a summary of the results of a survey of retrospective conversion programmes in UK higher education libraries. The survey was conducted by the author in association with Philip Bryant of the University of Bath. Questionnaires were sent to 266 higher education libraries in the UK.

MARC formats have been in use since the 1960s. UKMARC was developed originally by the British National Bibliography and although it now manifests itself in a variety of outputs – online, CD‐ROM, print, microfilm – it remains a tape‐based structure, has become tied to the British Library′s own products and services and is unduly concerned with how bibliographic data is ultimately processed. Anticipates UKMARC′s development over the next few years, during which the British Library is expected to co‐operate and consult more openly with format users; but also speculates whether the book community should not be looking ahead to non‐MARC means of transmitting bibliographic data in ways that are more appropriate to present technology.

Hunger strikes have a long history in efforts to achieve social change but scholars have made few comparative, empirical, or theoretical contributions to understanding their dynamics and connections in the social movement and nonviolent action literature. We examine hunger strikes from 1906 to 2004 with a comparative perspective, elaborating on its use as a tactic of nonviolent change. Using data assembled from the New York Times, Keesing's Worldwide Online, and The Economist we analyze how, when, where, and why hunger strikes occur, and by whom they have been utilized to seek change. In general, findings reveal that hunger strikes over the last century have been widespread phenomena that are typically small, brief, and relatively successful tactics against the state. Several themes emerge regarding hunger strikes including their appeal to the powerless and emergence when few political opportunities exist, their significance for third-party mobilization, and the role of emotions in the protest dynamics. Taken together, the power struggle involving the hunger strike is an important example and extension of “political jiu-jitsu” as presented by Sharp (1973).

A method is described for the construction of a control number for a bibliographical record which could provide a universal standard book number for that record. Since the new number relies on logical processes for its construction it could be obtained either manually or on the computer. The USBN consists of nine elements. The two most important of these are obtained from the title, and use a code for their construction which is based on the frequency of distribution of alphabetic letters.

Not many weeks back, according to newspaper reports, three members of the library staff of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London were dismissed. All had refused to carry out issue desk duty. All, according to the newspaper account, were members of ASTMS. None, according to the Library Association yearbook, was a member of the appropriate professional organisation for librarians in Great Britain.

Describes the history and current working of one of the “world′s most interesting collections of botanical books and manuscripts”. Notes in particular the work of William Sherard, one of the outstanding botanists of his day, and refers to other important works in the collection. Comments that the library is Oxford University′s main collection of books covering botany, agricultural science and forestry.