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I would like to begin by taking a general look at the official publications of local authorities, not only at what they are, but also at who uses them and what they are actually used for. In addition, I would like to try to make a rough assessment of the recent attempts to increase access to them, particularly emphasising the positive improvements that have taken place over recent years — and also to try to identify the shortcomings that remain. In examining the changing patterns of the publication of information recently, we should not only look at developments such as the Access to Information Act and the abolition of the Metropolitan County Councils, but also take a wider view, examining, for instance, whether increasing emphasis on value for money techniques in individual local authorities and the aim for objective decision making has altered the information and documentary requirements of local government and the value placed on them. Finally, and most centrally, I would like to look at the existing role played by local government information services in this area, and perhaps speculate on what can be achieved in the future. I would like to approach this by making a number of key points and then, hopefully, we can discuss those you feel of most value. My contribution has the broad title ‘Local government information services’. David Mort of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies will take a look at the information services provided by outside organisations for local authorities. The distinction between our contributions is, I hope, fairly clear and I will attempt to restrict myself to discussing the information services provided by individual local authorities while David will look at the wider scene. There is, of course, a grey area of information services which do not fall exactly within the boundaries of this definition and I will very briefly mention a number of these later, but first it might be useful to begin by having a very brief word about our sponsors. This seminar is a joint venture by the Aslib Planning Environment and Transport Information Group (PETIG) and the Standing Committee on Official Publications (SCOOP). SCOOP was formally set up at the beginning of 1983 and is a direct descendant of the Library Association/HMSO Services Working Party which was established in 1971. It might be helpful if I briefly summarise a number of the formal arrangements under which SCOOP operates in order to set the context for my contribution. The Committee's principal aims relate to UK national and local government official publications and these are to improve access and availability to such documents, to identify and propose solutions to problems of access and to provide mechanisms for the exchange of views between members of the library community on matters of common interest concerning UK official publications.

The large scale and far reaching functions of local government in the United Kingdom today are eloquent proofs of the universal demand for local services of high quality and wide coverage extending into almost every sector of life from literally the cradle to the grave. In the cities of Britain local government is often found to employ more people than any other single organisation. There are some 25,400 councillors in Britain and around 2,500,000 employees. The total expenditure of local authorities in England and Wales for 1984–85 was estimated at £24,323,000,000.1 The services provided include departments for development and planning, art galleries, libraries, museums, engineers, building surveyors, environmental health, architects, estate surveyors, housing, leisure and recreation, social services, economic development, education, transport, highways, trading standards, fire brigade, and police. In addition each local authority has departments mainly concerned with services to the other departments: the chief executive or secretary, personnel and management, solicitor, treasurer, and central purchasing services. Each of these departments has several important subdivisions, and clearly all require a constant inflow of information, and increasingly it is recognised local authorities generate large quantities of important information which can be used more widely with benefit within the authority, as well as outside.

Most local government documents are produced for internal purposes, but better exchange of information is highly desirable. A recent study has investigated the production and control of local government documentation in the UK. The published output of all departments of five different local authorities was monitored over a period of six months. It was found that local authorities are a major source of publications, but that standards of production and inclusion of bibliographic details varied greatly. Policies on document status and deposit of copies were generally lacking, and coverage in the periodical press and in secondary sources was poor. A code of practice on production and deposit of documents, and perhaps the establishment of a national clearinghouse, are needed.

Classification is a useful tool for understanding, organising and accessing knowledge. It can form a valuable part of the infrastructure of evidence based policy and practice by clarifying the full range of knowledge that might be relevant to a practitioner or policy maker's information need. This paper explores two possible classifications for social care, one based on the purposes of knowledge, and the other on the institutional sources of knowledge. Following application to a sample of social care documents, the sources‐based approach is identified as the most ‘fit for purpose’ for the social care community.

THE COMPUTER was first applied to the processing of bibliographical information in 1961 when the Chemical abstracts service (CAS) produced Chemical titles (CT), a machine‐generated alphabetical subject index to the 600 most significant journals covered by the parent journal Chemical abstracts. The key‐word‐in‐context (KWIC) format devised for CT was quickly adopted by other secondary bibliographical services to alleviate the problems imposed by the phenomenal growth of the scientific and technical literature.

The theme of this conference is information in a changing world. I think I was asked to contribute because, for the last six years or so, I have been fortunate to be placed in a very important sector of this changing world—local government. Both in this country and abroad the changes taking place, particularly in urban areas, have created vast new problems for urban managers and, as a result, they and their professional advisers from a wide range of disciplines are demanding better access to information.

Eight libraries in the north‐east of England co‐operate to produce data which each can use in their own local government current awareness services. This scheme originated in the wish by members to reduce duplication of effort and to enhance local services in the field of local government information. In attempting to reduce delay and increase coverage, but yet to retain local control and responsiveness, a unique system has been established which exhibits a high degree of flexibility and currency—one which could be used as a model for similar services. The planning and operation of this scheme are described, together with the comments of the participants concerning their use of the data. Some overall observations are made of issues and problems in the general area of co‐operative current awareness services and of how YADLOGIS (the co‐operative scheme discussed) copes with them. In conclusion, some thoughts are voiced on possible inter‐regional and national developments.

IT IS BY direction of NLW'S Subscription Department—to whom I have the good fortune to have been married for nigh on 16 years—that I open my first column of the new year with a lot of gubbins about subscriptions and their administration. Do please read it and, if appropriate, take action, or I'll never hear the end of it.

The Library Association gives advance notice of a conference to be held at Regent's College, Inner Circle, Regent's Park, London NW1 4NS on 9 March, 1989 on “Training: Sources and Resources”. The cost will be £50 for LA members (£60 to non‐members) including lunch and refreshments. A full programme and booking forms can be obtained from the Continuing Education Department, The Library Association, 7 Ridgmount Street, London WC1E 7AE. At the time of writing the speakers are not yet known.

Computer‐based systems have been used in a variety of organisations for some time now, and there are many studies of their effects upon organisations. In the 1980s, concern has centred more around the introduction of information technology (IT), which may be briefly defined as the combination or integration of computer, telecommunications and information systems. This convergence of technologies provides a greater impetus for information transfer at both the inter‐ and intra‐organisational levels. Organisations of all types have become involved with IT and have implemented (or are implementing) IT‐based systems. On the macro level, there is growing interest in, and concern over, the wider socio‐economic effects, such as employment, work patterns, information access and individual freedom and privacy.