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Before discussing reprographic equipment which is specifically designed for computer print‐out, it is as well to mention that investment in a simple document‐copying machine for use in a computer installation may be worth while. Many computers are situated away from the centre of office services and generate and receive a fair amount of paper work which requires copying. Copiers of the electro‐photographic type, suitable for intermittent use but nonetheless able to provide an A3 size copy for about 6d, are now becoming available and can be a valuable aid to making the odd copy of programs, flowcharts, correspondence, and so on.

A photocopier is now regarded as an essential part of the furniture of most libraries, and during the last decade machines operating on the dry electrostatic principle have almost entirely superseded the earlier chemical copiers. They are usually quicker and easier to operate, and produce a cheaper and more permanent copy. A range of fast automatic pressbutton machines can be hired (or purchased) which will generally provide a copy in about fifteen seconds, at a cost of approximately fourpence for an A4 size sheet. Coin‐operated machines are also available for self service applications.

A three group randomised control trial assessed the impact of a self‐help booklet and a community skin check competition on the frequency and coverage of skin examinations conducted upon Queenslanders who already report that they check their skin. Attitudinal and behavioural measures were collected in pre‐test and post‐test postal surveys.

In beginning its work at the end of the 1950s, the Aslib Research and Development Department inevitably faced the task of identifying the most significant problems for investigation, at the same time having the need to establish appropriate experimental techniques. Most of the projects undertaken since that time have dealt with current problems, and to an extent the advent of new technologies and techniques to the information world (mechanization in the 'sixties, management studies in the early 'seventies, on‐line working and publication problems in more recent years) is reflected in the work reported below. What follows is a complete bibliography of publications by members of the Department from its formation up to the end of 1977.

The University of Illnois Information Retrieval Research Laboratory contracted with the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to identify and analyze word‐oriented databases of potential relevance to FEMA. A subject profile technique was used to measure how many potentially relevant citations were found in selected databases, thus allowing a ranking and comparison of databases for the multidisciplinary field of emergency management. “Distribution of Citations in Databases in a Multidisciplinary Field” describes the ranking of databases relevant to emergency management and demonstrates the applicability of Bradford's law of scatter to citations in databases. This article describes an experiment to compare the subject profile technique used in the FEMA project to another common database coverage evaluation technique — the ‘bibliography’ or ‘review article’ technique. Although the two techniques have slightly different purposes, they can both be used to compare the coverage of databases in a particular subject area. This study shows the subject profile technique to be less costly and less time consuming.

Over several decades many ranking techniques have been proposed as aids to journal selection by libraries. We review those closely related to physics and others with novel features. There are three main methods of ranking: citation analysis, use or user judgement, and size or ‘productivity’. Citations offer an ‘unobtrusive’ quantitative measure, but not only is the absolute value of a citation in question, but also there is no consensus on a ‘correct’ way to choose the citing journals, nor of the ranking parameter. Citations can, however, point out anomalies and show the changing status of journals over the years. Use and user judgement also employ several alternative methods. These are in the main of limited applicability outside the specific user group in question. There is greater ‘parochialism’ in ‘use’ ranking than in ‘judged value’ lists, with citation lists the most international. In some cases, the attempted ‘quantification’ of subjective judgement will be misleading. Size and productivity rankings are normally concerned with one or other formulation of the Bradford distribution. Since the distribution is not universally valid, for library use the librarian must satisfy him/herself that the collection conforms to the distribution, or that his users would be well served by one that did. This may require considerable effort, and statistics gained will then render the Bradford distribution redundant.

Information‐use studies are vitally necessary in order to complement, challenge, and sharpen informed intuitive judgements, but even the broadest conclusions drawn from such studies need to be examined critically. The conclusions or their generality may sometimes be invalidated by special conditions in the survey sample, by the environment having been disturbed by the survey, by the interpretation given to questions or observations, or by the way the data has been analysed. These same factors make direct comparison of results from different surveys difficult, and make superficial comparisons misleading. Some comparisons and conclusions are certainly much less sound than the casual reader might suppose, particularly when results have been compressed and taken out of their context in the original survey. The difficulty of comparing information‐use surveys is well illustrated by the copious footnotes used by Menzel, Lieberman, and Dulchin in order to qualify the significance of the results which they compare.

In common with other public sector bodies, the police service recognises that the development of leadership capability amongst its workforce is key to improving levels of both performance and service delivery. The recently developed Police Leadership Qualities Framework lays out a clearly defined model of leadership, and is underpinned by a framework of values and behaviours that enable that model to be developed in practice. This paper expands on one of the key underlying principles of the model that leadership is evident at all ranks and grades of the service, and is a skill that can be developed. This article postulates that each individual has their own ‘leadership space’ which it is important they are able to fill effectively. Individual and organisational failings often occur when this ‘space’ is not properly filled ‐ through lack of skill, development opportunity or experience. The paper considers a cognitive and behaviourist approach to learning and explores some of the ways in which leadership capability is developed in the police service.

A considerable portion of Dr. G. S. BUCHANAN'S report on the work of the Inspectors of Foods of the Local Government Board during the year 1908–09 deals with work carried out in special relation to the Public Health (Regulations as to Food) Act, 1907. A large amount of the meat consumed in this country is imported from the continent of Europe, the United States, and the colonies, and it may almost be said that the fact of our having to rely on the foreign producer for so much of our meat supply accounts for some of it being derived from diseased animals, or being in other ways unwholesome, or bearing evidence of having been prepared under conditions in which the needful sanitary precautions have not been taken.

This review of the literature on the interaction between the public and private sectors in information services provision, with specific reference to document delivery and the impact of new communications technologies, was undertaken at the request of the British National Bibliography Research Fund. It covers only the English‐language literature, and does not present any particular point of view other than is implicit in the literature covered. Some notes on the issues explicitly or implicitly raised in the review are presented in the final section.