The Literature of Special Librarianship

Abstract

AT the very outset of this paper it is necessary to make clear that it is not an attempt to compile an exhaustive bibliography of literature relating to special librarianship. Neither space nor time permit this. In fact, the references given can only claim to be a sample of the wealth of material on the subject and this paper is submitted in the hope that it will stimulate others to more scholarly efforts. Reference numbers throughout this paper refer to items in the ‘Select list of references to the literature of special librarianship’, section 2 onwards.

‘So wide and varied’: The origins and character of British information science

“…The increased awareness of technical information as a resource, for science-based industries in particular, led to the establishment of special libraries, and to the idea of ‘information work’ as distinct from librarianship, from the end of the nineteenth century [16, 23, 24]. These, compared with traditional libraries, had a much more pro-active role, a strong subject focus, and an interest in all forms of information, not just formally published documents [24, 32]. Their distinctiveness was summed up by JD Bernal [33, p. 20] as ‘Old libraries were conceived as depositories of knowledge: the modern library should be a distributor and organiser of knowledge’.…”

“…These, compared with traditional libraries, had a much more pro-active role, a strong subject focus, and an interest in all forms of information, not just formally published documents [24,32]. Their distinctiveness was summed up by JD Bernal [33, p. 20] as 'Old libraries were conceived as depositories of knowledge: the modern library should be a distributor and organiser of knowledge'.…”