Search results

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.

News has reached us of the death on 19th August of Hans Peter Luhn, President of the American Documentation Institute since October 1963. Born in Barmen, Germany, in 1896, Mr Luhn went to the United States in 1924. He joined IBM in 1941 and worked there until 1961, when he retired and became a consultant to industry. Although Mr Luhn was known by relatively few people in Britain, his contributions in the field of mechanization are widely known. During his time at IBM Mr Luhn was at the source of a steady stream of innovations in the field of information retrieval. Among the projects he initiated, or developed, are: Keyword‐In‐Context Indexes, automatic abstracting, statistical methods of automatic indexing and selective dissemination of information. He was a prolific writer and some of his publications are already classics. Mr Luhn will be remembered as one of the great pioneers in library automation.

Not a very exciting title, particularly that word patents, which conjures up documents often difficult to read and even more difficult to understand. There is really no need for a patent specification to be more obscure than any other well drafted technical description; unfortunately jargon has crept in mainly with the intention of being less restrictive and now much of it is due to what I regard as a rather lazy habit.

Information and special library work is at present a profession that is in the process of formation and struggling for recognition, and entry into it is entirely uncontrolled. People with the most varied backgrounds and levels of education find themselves made responsible for setting up or running library and information services, without any previous knowledge of the work. Often they are in remote places and without any contact with more experienced colleagues who could give them advice, and their only means of getting the knowledge necessary for the efficient carrying out of their duties is from reading. But, owing to the unsettled state of the profession, the literature is voluminous and scattered, and much of it is of a low standard, or occupied with pure theorizing or polemics. Moreover, the literature that the novice is most likely to see, namely the articles on documentation which are occasionally printed in technical journals, is not always the most helpful for a person who has no background of experience against which he can evaluate it. In these circumstances the new entrant needs a guide to the literature if he is not to be discouraged or adopt practices and systems which are not really suitable to his circumstances. It is to meet this need that this annual review of the literature, now in its sixth year, has been written. It attempts to select those books and papers which are most likely to be of direct help in running a small information department or library, eschewing all pure theorizing and polemics, and only including literature on large libraries where it is felt that it contains ideas capable of application in smaller organizations. To these are added a selection of the most important works of reference, including some that the information officer may wish to know about and consult in other libraries, even though his own library does not possess them. The list is not restricted to work published in 1957, but is intended to be representative of items received in British libraries during the period under review. Owing to restrictions in space, the selection has to be rigorous, and is inevitably, to a certain extent, a personal one. No two people would probably agree on all the omissions, but it is hoped that all the items included will be of positive value to the type of reader for whom the review is intended.

This paper does not pretend to introduce anything which has not been said at greater length before, but it may prove useful to the extent that it attempts to collect together associated aspects of the utilization of foreign literature.

Few people would deny that the purchase and move into Aslib's new headquarters was a matter of very great importance but I believe that the increased grant made to Aslib by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research is of even greater potential importance. During the last five years the grant had been a maximum of £7,000 a year but the new grant, starting in January 1959, would be £12,000 a year, conditional on Aslib raising £15,000, with a further £100 for every extra £100 raised up to a maximum of £18,000.

The narrative below has been written to illustrate various difficulties which may arise, in regard to copyright, in the work of Aslib members. The events described are all imaginary and all names are fictitious.

The Aslib Aeronautical Group met, under the chairmanship of Mr. A. H. Holloway, on 5th April for its sixth annual Week‐end Conference at the College of Aeronautics. The timing was most fortunate, as the AGARD Documentation Committee, which had been meeting in London during the week, continued its deliberations at Cranfield during the week‐end.

This study seeks to determine differences between recruitment processes and methods and training practices used in small and large businesses in the retailing, manufacturing, and tourism sectors in an emerging economy, Barbados.

The research utilized a quantitative survey covering 49 retailing, manufacturing and tourism‐oriented organizations to ascertain whether small organizations practice the procedures and methods outlined in the prescriptive literature on recruitment and training compared with large organizations. Institutional theory and resource‐based view informed the research.

It was found that recruitment processes and methods and training practices vary among small and large organizations. It suggests that, in Barbados, small businesses are likely to rely on informal recruitment methods and informal training practices compared with large businesses.

This study is only conducted across the retailing, manufacturing and tourism sectors in Barbados. The findings may have implications for management in other sectors, and small and large businesses in emerging economies.

The results provide academics and managers in both large and small businesses with insights into recruitment and training practices in small and large businesses in an emerging economy.

This paper contributes to the limited research done on recruitment and training activities among small‐sized and large‐sized firms in the English‐speaking Caribbean.

Explores the moral issues which underpin the personnel function and considers the ethical challenges in policy making and the policy/practice gaps being thrown up by the radical global changes. Discusses the subject of axiology, together with deontology, to explore how these underpin company integrity and the rules of ethical custom. Emphasizes the need to raise the subject of ethics in the many areas associated with the employment of people. Recommends that this is an appropriate time with the change in emphasis from personnel to human resource management, and the need for proactive approaches to change. Concludes with a personal plea for HR specialists to be responsible for raising awareness, facilitating learning and ensuring that standards of ethical conduct are practised within human resource policies and practices.