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In the following notes the term ‘Correspondence’ has been broadly interpreted, to cover all the occasional and incidental sources of unpublished information which may be of service to the technical department of an organization. No attempt has been made to cover such material as laboratory notes, research reports and the like, since these fall normally within the scope of technical records, with which this session is not primarily concerned.

Before attempting to forecast the future trends and possibilities in the provision of information services for industry it is necessary first of all to consider the characteristics of present‐day industrial society and, secondly, the information needs of the industrial units upon which our present economy is based.

It has been a great pleasure to have listened to Mr. Mathys' most interesting paper on the patent specification as a source of information, and I have the added pleasure of having been asked by Mr. Mathys to explain how a seeker after information contained in English patent specifications can track down the specifications he wishes to read. Mr. Mathys suggested that I should explain some of the principles of the Patent Office classification and some of the practical results obtained. However, I propose to alter to some extent this logical order of presentation. After reviewing three lines of attack for locating a specification, I shall briefly review the historical development of the Classification key, that is the book in which the scheme of classification is disclosed, then I will show how a hypothetical Mr. X can locate specifications that disclose inventions relating to frying‐pans, and finally I will give a short resume of the principles underlying the scheme of and method of classifying patent specifications. I have adopted this inverted form of presentation because more people wish to use a classification system to find some specific item, than wish to study such a system as an abstract entity. No difficulty arises for a person who knows the patent number of a particular specification he wishes to read. He merely enters the Patent Office Library or one of the several provincial libraries that are supplied with copies of specifications, and quickly finds what he wants amidst an orderly numbered sequence. Alternatively, he can send 2s. 8d. to the Sale Branch of the Patent Office and obtain a copy by post.

Sir Raymond Streat, C.B.E., Director of The Cotton Board, Manchester, accompanied by Lady Streat. A Vice‐President: F. C. Francis, M.A., F.S.A., Keeper of the Department of Printed Books, British Museum. Honorary Treasurer: J. E. Wright, Institution of Electrical Engineers. Honorary Secretary: Mrs. J. Lancaster‐Jones, B.Sc., Science Librarian, British Council. Chairman of Council: Miss Barbara Kyle, Research Worker, Social Sciences Documentation. Director: Leslie Wilson, M.A.

Amalgamation with the British Society for International Bibliography, agreed in principle in 1947, was accomplished de facto as from 1 January, 1948. The legal side, however, has taken longer than was anticipated, though the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the new body have been accepted by the Board of Trade and it is hoped that the formalities will be completed during 1948. Until these have taken place the finances of the two organisations have had to be kept separate, although their activities have been controlled as one organization under a joint Council. It is expected that the first Annual General Meeting of the new Aslib will be held about April, 1949, when the whole present Council will resign and a new Council will be elected.

Mr. Fullman is well known to all Aslib members, as Information Officer at British Non‐Ferrous Metals Research Association. He has for years past given generously of his time to Aslib as a very active member of its Council, its Publication Committee, its Conference Committee, and, during the last year particularly, as Chairman of its Education Committee and of the sub‐committees, he has been largely responsible for drafting the syllabus for the Training of the Information Officer, thereby making a signal contribution to our Association.

Report of the Council for the year ended 31st December, 1954, presented at the Annual General Meeting, 10th June, 1955.

All items listed may be borrowed from the Aslib Library, except those marked, which may be consulted in the Library.

It is with some trepidation I introduce this subject before an audience with such a wealth of experience in scientific and technical information work, but I hope to hold your attention for the next forty‐five minutes as I try to evaluate the factors which, in my experience, have influenced the flow of information and, I hope too, to provoke some much needed thought on the problems that confront us all in this field today.

The papers in this issue were given at the 25th Annual Conference, held at Bristol University from 22nd to 25th September, 1950. Some 230 delegates from the British Isles, the Commonwealth and Europe were welcomed to dinner on Friday evening by Sir Philip Morris, C.B.E., M.A., Vice‐Chancellor of the University, and Lady Morris. No papers were given on Friday evening, Mr. J. E. Wright arranging an informal dance after dinner.