THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF ASLIB
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026058 |
| Pages | 6-20 |
| Date | 01 January 1945 |
| Published date | 01 January 1945 |
| Author | R.S. HUTTON |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF ASLIB
by R. S. HUTTON
Some earlier co-ordination
of
information services
THE
stimulus given by the last war to the study of foreign industrial practice
probably had much to do with laying the foundations on which, by the well-
timed action of a few enthusiasts, the first Aslib Conference was based.
These foundations consisted of the industrial information bureaux and
especially of the research associations, recently established by the Department
of Scientific and Industrial Research, most of which had departments for
collecting and reviewing publications dealing with their own individual
branches of technology.
Some earlier attempts to secure co-operation in this field were included in
the activities of the Conjoint Board of Scientific Societies (1916-23), founded
by the Royal Society, which had the great advantage of the official repre-
sentation of
its
many constituent societies. The World list of
scientific
perio-
dicals, paper rationing in the last war, government grants for scientific
publications, the
International catalogue
of
scientific
literature,
and a fortnightly
Bulletin
of the programmes of the meetings of
societies
were all dealt with.
The Board, however, was wound up just when its work might have been
most effective and for the last twenty years Aslib, with far less official
influence, has tried to deal with several problems which the Conjoint Board
would have included in its programme. Mention should also be made of the
Faraday Society's general discussion on the 'Co-ordination of scientific
publications' in May 1918 during the presidency of the late Sir Robert
Hadfield; and the Conference of Research Associations of the Department
of Scientific and Industrial Research in December 1919, presided over by
the late Lord Balfour, at which the subject of 'Information Bureaux' formed
one of the main themes and the Records Bureau of the Department
itself,
in charge of
C.
A. Spencer, was described.
The planning in 1924 of a week-end Convention of those in charge of
special libraries and of others concerned with the collection and utilization
of information was the idea of
a
small group connected with the metallur-
gical research associations—J. G. Pearce, who had just been appointed
Director of the British Cast Iron Research Association, A. F. Ridley and
I
myself,
at that time respectively Librarian and Director of the British Non-
Ferrous Metals Research Association. We had all for long been interested
in the improvement of provincial technical library resources and had been
impressed by special library developments in the United States. J. G. Pearce
had attended the Special Libraries Association Conference at Atlantic City
in 1923 and I had studied technical libraries during several visits to America.
In planning this Conference we had prominently in mind two vital
problems which faced industrial research associations but which appeared
To continue reading
Request your trial