Repository: UIHistories Project: SWE - Proceedings of the First International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists [PAGE 45]

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Information is published, for instance, by learned and professional Societies, of which there are about 800 in England. Much of this is publication of original work, as for instance the bulletins of Research Institutes. There are also popular scientific papers aimed at the laymen. The importance of these will be discussed later. The Government issues publications, mostly in the form of reports. Lastly, there are commercial publications, such as scientific books, journals, journals issued by private firms, containing reports of research' and achievements. There are catalogs and advertisements, giving information on the products of individual firms. Universities publish theses produced by their graduates. Then there are the publications of the British Standard Institution, laying down standards and Codes of Practice, and lastly the publications of the Patent Office. To put all this information at the disposal of the user, there are the libraries. First, there are the large Public Libraries, as for instance in England the British Museum Library and in the United States the Library of Congress, which receives a copy of every publication that appears. There is the Patent Office Library, the libraries kept by the major institutions, e.g., the Institution of Mechanical Engineers or the Institution of Civil Engineers, to name only a few, and of course the University libraries. Some large firms like the I.C.I, or Shell also keep extensive libraries. Practically all firms keep libraries of varying size, which are normally stocked with the literature relevant to the products of the individual firm. It can also be assumed that every department in every firm keeps its own library, even if it only contains a number of handbooks and catalogs. Librarians, particularly in smaller firms, have a very difficult task. How to make available the accruing information to all concerned is an almost insoluble problem.. In very small firms, periodicals are usually circulated, with all the advantages and disadvantages attached to this procedure. In theory, it means that every member of the staff gets every periodical, magazine, catalog, etcl In practice, of course, most people do not find the time to read all this literature quickly and pass it on. This means that the more interesting material is kept back by the first readers, or even taken home for reading at leisure, and it may then never get back into circulation. Even if it does, it may reach the man who requires it most urgently after such a long time that it may be antiquated and superseded by more recent information. In larger firms, therefore, periodic bulletins are issued enumerating the new acquisitions, preferably with a precis or even digest of the contents. This puts a very heavy task on the librarian and his staff - if he has any staff I It requires a very intimate knowledge of the subject matter and a very great general technical knowledge. The organization of even a comparatively small technical library demands great administrative skill. The librarian has also to keep in close contact with other libraries, certainly with the public libraries, but also with the

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