HERBERT COBLANS: A Biography

Abstract

Herbert Coblans to whose memory this number of the Journal of Documentation is dedicated served for thirteen years as its editor and as a world‐wide spokesman of Aslib's cause. In character and intellectual make‐up he was an exemplar of Aslib itself: a highly professional exponent of the skills and techniques of recording and communication in, particularly, scientific fields. In this role he never allowed himself to be an extroverted propagandist but maintained his sometimes magisterial status as a highly attuned expert talking to experts. Thirty years ago he had been Head of the Chemistry Department in the University of Natal and it was certainly because of his scientific background that he was able to show to the scientific world a sense of the philosophies and techniques and sciences inherent in modern methods. What we are trying to show here, mainly in contributions from his professional colleagues, is more than just a record of his achievements at the summit of expertness in his profession but something of the social, cultural and moral character of a very remarkable man.

Citation

CARTER, E. (1978), "HERBERT COBLANS: A Biography", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 34 No. 4, pp. 259-272. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026663