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Regrets the disappearance of library history from the curricula of library schools. Reports the good work done by the Library History Group of the Library Association since its inception over 30 years ago, but suggests that membership of the Group is too low. More interest in its work should be shown by Library Association members. Deplores the wanton discarding of historical records by present‐day librarians and suggests that all libraries should maintain and develop an archive of their own history and progress. Between now and the advent of the next century there will be many anniversaries, offering opportunities for further research, building on what has already been done. Recommends and lists some source materials, useful for beginners in the study of library history.

This report has been part of the work of the Survey of Sources for American Studies in the United Kingdom, a research group which was established in October 1956 by the British Association for American Studies aided by a generous grant from the United States Information Service. The Survey decided that it could attempt two things of potential use to teachers of American History and American Literature in this country: firstly, to compile a Guide to manuscripts relating to America in Great Britain and Ireland; and, secondly (the matter of this report), to find out how adequate are the resources of libraries in the United Kingdom to support the teaching of American history and also of American literature in the universities.

THE HISTORY OF LIBRARIES AND LIBRARIANSHIP has been given both too little and too much attention. That there is a great deal of indifference on the part of many librarians concerning their past, or their original raison d'être, is obvious from the style of many of the articles written in defence of such a knowledge. The greater part of such articles seems to be taken up with explaining that apathy concerning library history is very understandable because modern methods in librarianship are more important; that what happened thousands of years ago in Egypt, or even in Britain in the last century, has very little bearing on modern theory or practice; that modern developments in library science—computers and the like—render the older methods utterly useless. For example, Reichmann says:

This study explores, historically, that definition of information management (IM) which centres on the ordering and channelling of non‐publicly available information within organisations. Whereas IM as a discipline is relatively new, as an activity within modern organisations it has a long history. Three types of organisation are highlighted: the business corporation, the library and the state agency (specifically, British military intelligence). Sophisticated information systems in organisations are a core feature of modernity and can be traced back to the revolution in state administration in the nineteenth century and to the emergence of large corporations from about 1880 onwards. At about the same time, libraries too evolved systematic, internal information flows and regimes, often of a standardised nature dictated by library management theorists. Evidence from the government sphere is also presented: considerable space is given in the study to the role played by IM in the early years of MI5, Britain‘s counter‐espionage and counter‐insurgency military intelligence agency. Documents recently released by the Public Record Office, covering the first decade of MI5’s history between 1909 and 1919, point to a growing recognition of the importance of IM. In conclusion, a case will be made for the construction of a new subject field of ‘Information Management History’ which will enrich, particularly through potentially exciting research pathways, not just the established fields of business and administrative history but also the emergent discipline of IM itself.

Not many weeks back, according to newspaper reports, three members of the library staff of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London were dismissed. All had refused to carry out issue desk duty. All, according to the newspaper account, were members of ASTMS. None, according to the Library Association yearbook, was a member of the appropriate professional organisation for librarians in Great Britain.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a clearer picture of the first establishment of school libraries in Kuwait. In addition, the paper explores the development of the school library between 1911 and 1962.

The paper adopts a qualitative research strategy. The interviews and documentation techniques have been utilized to gather data about the subject.

The findings traced the first appearance of the school library in Kuwait back to 1944. It showed that the development of the library encountered major difficulties.

The unique study reveals a branch of Kuwaiti education history hitherto concealed from its people, where the recognition of other disciplines in the field and the need for further study emerges.

Argues that women's history is a player in the history of collection development, although its awards are obscured in library history. Pioneer women librarians shaped children's collections beyond the structural initiation of service into an expanded vision of service, a sense of transgressing boundaries in order to advocate and mediate for children and their literature. Considers the philosophy and work of Caroline Hewins and Anne Carroll Moore, which presents a paradigm of building collections for a larger community that is now part of the planning process for public libraries and an ongoing model of activist service through collections.