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Presents the aims and needs of research in facilities management (FM) at the Section of Planning and Management of Building Processes at BYG(DTU. As the building stock in Denmark is rapidly increasing, socio‐demographic development implies profound changes in both the needs of inhabitants and the way that buildings are used, combined with an increased consciousness of sustainability. Buildings should be seen as long‐term “investments” while also keeping in mind the construction sector's need for increased productivity, long‐term product quality and enhanced value. This is the background for developing a research position. Identifies “the Scandinavian way” as using FM on a multi‐actor level, rather than just to serve the interests of a single organisation. The aim is to focus on small and medium‐sized enterprises, non‐profit associations and tenants, as well as the bodies administrating infrastructure within the mainstream FM field. There is an urgent need to address how society can best manage the growing (and decaying) building stock, to develop life‐cycle‐rooted infrastructure and building design, and finally allow buildings to be appropriated by their current and future users.

The purpose of this paper is to present the challenge of the creative economy for FM practice and research. It seeks to do so by comparing developments in FM with developments in the related discipline of urban planning.

The research is based on a comprehensive literature review as well as action research in relation to urban planning.

The growth of the creative economy has meant a close connection between corporate and urban development. This means that FM, in order to facilitate creative environments, can find inspiration from trends in urban planning, and look at the urban context as a part of its facilities. However, including the urban context in FM, and studying it, comes with possibilities as well as challenges. FM needs what is called a thematic as well as epistemological “urbanisation” in order to recognise creative and social possibilities and needs.

Whereas the research is thoroughly founded in urban and social theory and sketches out important considerations in establishing an urbanised research agenda for FM, it does not include all recent developments within subjects such as new ways of working, place design and management.

The urban perspectives unfolded show avenues of development regarding both strategic considerations for place design and necessities of and possibilities in corporate social responsibility within FM through community and research collaboration.

The paper provides ideas of how an urbanised FM can play an active role in creating a positive change of neighbourhoods at the same time as facilitating a creative development for corporations.

In relation to community‐based FM, the possible interaction between FM and the urban context has been discussed from an FM point of view. This paper brings this discussion a step further: it illustrates how urban planning knowledge holds the potential for a further social and urban development of FM research and practice in a creative economy.

THE catalogue, as a library appliance of importance, has had more attention devoted to it than, perhaps, any other method or factor of librarianship. Its construction, materials, rules for compilation and other aspects have all been considered at great length, and in every conceivable manner, so that little remains for exposition save some points in the policy of the catalogue, and its effects on progress and methods. In the early days of the municipal library movement, when methods were somewhat crude, and hedged round with restrictions of many kinds, the catalogue, even in the primitive form it then assumed, was the only key to the book‐wealth of a library, and as such its value was duly recognized. As time went on, and the vogue of the printed catalogue was consolidated, its importance as an appliance became more and more established, and when the first Newcastle catalogue appeared and received such an unusual amount of journalistic notice, the idea of the printed catalogue as the indispensable library tool was enormously enhanced from that time till quite recently. One undoubted result of this devotion to the catalogue has been to stereotype methods to a great extent, leading in the end to stagnation, and there are places even now where every department of the library is made to revolve round the catalogue. Whether it is altogether wise to subordinate everything in library work to the cult of the catalogue has been questioned by several librarians during the past few years, and it is because there is so much to be said against this policy that the following reflections are submitted.