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The article explores the role of information brokers and information consultants, their development, reasons for their emergence, their main characteristics and activities and their relations with libraries. Finally, the future of information brokers/consultants is examined.

The centre was one of several used recently for visits by small groups of the 36 members of the course during a week which was devoted to engineering. The Engineering Industry Training Board's office in Newcastle, acting on behalf of the Engineering Careers Information Service, was responsible for organising the programme with Des Hall, the course leader, and Janet Smith, a senior lecturer from the Polytechnic, lending advice and help.

TRAGEDY has touched many libraries in the past few weeks, but the really sporting manner in which has been met the worst that the Nazi bomber can do places librarians, we hope, fully in line with our people. Roofless rooms have been patched, sometimes merely with canvas and felt, empty houses have been taken over, and by similar expedients even in the worst places a library service has been continued. It has been used, too. There is no fear for the future of the book and reading, whatever difficulties impede them. It has become almost commonplace that reading is a main employment of war leisure; but we still have to get that over to the powers that be. Or have we? The Board of Education wrote to local authorities asking them to maintain and even to extend library facilities as their value in war was enhanced. Some have responded.

Western societies have been shaken by the economic crisis brought on by ‘casino capitalism’ and the recklessness of the financial institutions. Once esteemed financial institutions, like Lehman Brothers, are now shown to have used dubious accounting methods to cover losses; and accountants, regulators and governments have come under scrutiny. In public life, the scandal of MPs' expenses at Westminster and the blockages in legislative assemblies in the US are compounded in England by reports of deficient and degrading care in acute hospitals, where organisational considerations appear to have taken over from the prime mission of patient care. At this time, a new, or perhaps rediscovered, form of leadership is required. One that taps into the spirit, the animating and motivating force within individuals and groups, and uses values to create a better public service for all.

Under this heading are published regularly abstracts of all Reports and Memoranda of the Aeronautical Research Council, Reports and Technical Notes of the United States National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and publications of other similar Research Bodies as issued.

Explores and presents an agenda for action in introducing and developing information consultancy and brokerage as an alternative information service in Africa. The agenda focuses on co‐ordination and publicity of the services, research, LIS education, market, trends and problems. The author explores the results of a study he conducted in Botswana in order to compile the agenda and concludes that as long as the African communities increasingly consume post‐industrial and information society or western products and services, “ruralness”, poverty, illiteracy and underdeveloped information infrastructure, alone, cannot alienate the information consumers from exploiting and using information consultancy and brokerage services. This article, based on a paper presented by the author at the 13‐SCECSAL conference in Nairobi in July 1998, suggests a need for a conference or pre‐SCECSAL seminar, on the subject in the near future, for information specialists in Africa. A draft directory of information consultants and brokers in Botswana is appended to the paper.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of employee engagement and work–life balance in perceived supervisor support and turnover intentions relationship.

The perception of teachers on the constructs considered has been assessed by a survey using a structured questionnaire. Data were collected from the teachers of private schools of Punjab, India, and 375 were valid number of responses. Parallel multiple mediated regression was used to estimate the direct and indirect effects of perceived supervisor support on turnover intentions mediated through employee engagement and work–life balance.

The results reveal that the effect of perceived supervisor support on turnover intentions is indirect rather than direct. On the comparison of specific indirect effects, the results demonstrate that employee engagement and two dimensions of work–life balance (work interference with personal life and work–personal life enhancement) act as mediators in the perceived supervisor support and turnover intentions relationship.

School principals need to draft teacher-friendly policies for enhancing work–life balance and employee engagement so that teachers can feel satisfied with their work and can handle work and family demands. In this way, positive perceptions associated with high engagement and work–family balance can take place, which in turn can curtail the turnover intentions of teachers.

The use of employee engagement and work-life balance in the relationship of perceived supervisor support and turnover intentions is unprecedented. The study also considered three different dimensions of work–life balance and tested the model in an integrative manner. Since the study is based on an Indian sample, it also adds to growing literature on turnover intentions in nonwestern countries. The results are of great value to school managements, HR managers and policymakers who are seeking to develop practices that reduce employee turnover at workplaces.