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The NHS reforms provide many opportunities for health libraries. Health professionals are being increasingly encouraged to base their decisions on evidence from the literature. Librarians need to keep abreast of organizational and political change and develop skills in critical appraisal, in information retrieval and in teaching end‐users to do their own searching in order to support evidence‐based health care. A programme of professional development ‐ The Librarian of the 21st Century ‐ in Anglia and Oxford has provided a cohort of librarians with these skills. Describes the background and content of this programme.

The Kirton Adaption‐Innovation Inventory and the Learning Styles Questionnaire were used as part of a wider investigation, reported in an earlier paper, to explore the influence of personality, discipline and organisational structure on the information behaviour of biochemists, entomologists and statisticians working at an agricultural research station (n = 67). Results from the psychometric tests were assessed in terms of the groups obtained from a cluster analysis. Groups identified by the KAI as Innovators and by the LSQ as Activists sought information more widely, more enthusiastically and from more diverse sources than other groups. Groups identified as Adaptors by the KAI and Reflectors by the LSQ, were more controlled, methodical and systematic in their information behaviour.

The packet switched network JANET (Joint Academic Network) which links the academic community of universities, polytechnics, government funded research establishments and the British Library has great potential for library use. JUGL (JANET User Group for Libraries) has been established as a special interest user group to encourage libraries to make the most of these opportunities. Its terms of reference include the provision of teaching and training, and to this end the JUGL Committee decided to organise a training workshop in September 1987.

Since the late 1970s mounting concern about farming practices and agricultural policy has coincided with a steady decrease in the funds available for publicly‐funded research. Major reorganisation taking place in agricultural research is forcing library and information departments to reassess the range of services they offer. The increasing pressure to seek commercial sponsorship in order to offset the effects of cuts, will have repercussions for information practitioners who will have to market their services more aggressively, extend their horizons, and increasingly come to regard information as a tradeable commodity. Information will become more commonly available to the end‐user without the necessity for an intermediary, both on the farm and in the laboratory.

The objective, sustenance and reward of research is information. But information does not yet grow on trees nor through the agency of monoclonal antibodies. It requires careful harvesting, winnowing and dissemination, albeit with electronic tools.

I would guess that it is almost impossible to attend any conference these days and especially one with the word ‘future’ in the title without someone, if not everyone, emphasising and remphasising that we are all living in a time of great change and uncertainty. Although it is the conceit of every generation to suppose themselves unique, anyone who has lived and worked in the NHS for the past 5 years might be forgiven for claiming that they have been subject to quite unprecedented change.

Despite the breadth of knowledge on self and identity formation across the study of organizations, the field of organizational development and change has limited research on the construction of professional identity. Much has been written to describe the “self-concepts” of those practicing and researching in the field, but there have been no investigations that have explored how these “self-concepts” form. In addition, although women have contributed to defining the “self” in the field, men have held the dominant perspective on the subject. Thus, in this chapter, we address a disparity in the research by exploring the construction of professional identity in the field of organizational development and change, and we give voice to the renowned women who helped to build the field. Using the profiles of 17 American women included in The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers, we perform a narrative analysis based upon the concepts and models prevalent in the literature on identity formation. By disentangling professional identity formation of the notable women in the field, we can begin to see the nuance and particularities involved in its construction and gain deeper understandings about effective ways to prepare individuals to work in and advance the field.

Semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews were used to explore the influence of personality, discipline and organisational structure on the information behaviour of biochemists, entomologists and statisticians working at an agricultural research station (n = 67). Cluster analysis was used to reveal groupings in the data. Library and document‐based activities did not differentiate individuals. Computer use, both for scientific work and information handling, and the degree of enthusiasm displayed for actively seeking information divided the population. Discipline, work role and time spent in the subject field and organisation were the most important determinants of information behaviour. There were some indications of male/female differences in information behaviour. A comparison of the groups obtained from the cluster analysis with a subjective classification showed the former to be more robust in later analysis.