Health and Safety Executive Laboratories' Libraries

Abstract

Under the terms of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) was formed on 1st October 1974. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was established on 1st January 1975 as the operating arm of the Commission. The Executive includes six Inspectorates and the Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS). The Inspectorates are Agriculture Inspectorate, Alkali and Clean Air Inspectorate, Explosives Inspectorate, Factories Inspectorate, Mines and Quarries Inspectorate and Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. EMAS acts as the medical arm of the Executive and is the channel of medical advice to the Commission and the Inspectorates within the Executive, HSE has a large Information and Advisory Services Branch (DIAS) which includes among other things the Library and Translation Services. The library organization, although integrated on a broad basis, operates in two independent functional areas—services in support of the research laboratories and those to staff in Head Office and field organizations. The Executive carries out a considerable volume of research in its Health and Safety Laboratories (HSL). This paper describes the development of the library services in support of research in HSL. The laboratories, with a total staff of approximately 500, are located at Sheffield, Buxton and Cricklewood (London). Each laboratory has a library, the main one being located in Sheffield.

Citation

Pantry, S. (1978), "Health and Safety Executive Laboratories' Libraries", Aslib Proceedings, Vol. 30 No. 8, pp. 280-286. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb050640