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OUR readers need no apology from us for the attention given to Library Training in these pages. The amount of dissatisfaction with the present state of affairs, if it may be judged from the gossip and letters that reach us, is of some proportions. It is not to be supposed that complaints are necessarily justified. They may be made in the natural chagrin of disappointment by candidates who have failed. Alternatively, there may be reasons which have a disinterested origin. The record of passes and failures shows that in December there was a dêbacle in candidates in the subject of cataloguing, which at least merits thought. In earlier issues it has been suggested by our writers that examinations twice yearly encourage experiments in sitting. There has also been the suggestion that librarians place too much stress on qualifications for their juniors and urge them to struggle with subjects for which they cannot be ready. To pass in cataloguing a student must be able to catalogue anything from a novel to an academic thesis in Anglo‐Norman French on Phlogiston, supposing that to be possible!

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

WE look before and after at the beginning of 1951. The three cardinal dates in the history of the public library movement—which is only the larger part of the national library service—were 1850 which saw the legal origin of the movement; 1919 when it was set free from the enforced poverty of sixty‐nine years, and 1950 when it reached what until today was its veritable apotheosis. General recognition, such as authority from the Crown to the humblest journal gave to public libraries, was something undreamed of not more than thirty years ago. Perhaps, now that some of the splendour of the commemoration has taken more sober colours, it is well to consider what was gained by it. First, the recognition is there and can scarcely be belittled by anyone hereafter; we stand on a somewhat different platform now. We have the extremely valued recognition of our colleagues from libraries overseas. From these advantages all libraries and not only public libraries will in their own way profit.

Index by subjects, compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

The management of children′s literature is a search for value and suitability. Effective policies in library and educational work are based firmly on knowledge of materials, and on the bibliographical and critical frame within which the materials appear and might best be selected. Boundaries, like those between quality and popular books, and between children′s and adult materials, present important challenges for selection, and implicit in this process are professional acumen and judgement. Yet also there are attitudes and systems of values, which can powerfully influence selection on grounds of morality and good taste. To guard against undue subjectivity, the knowledge frame should acknowledge the relevance of social and experiential context for all reading materials, how readers think as well as how they read, and what explicit and implicit agendas the authors have. The good professional takes all these factors on board.

Accounting information is prepared and submitted to interested parties with the aim of influencing their behaviour and decisions. If an accounting system is to provide information which can be used to help interested parties, such as managers, to control the future activities of the organisation and make well‐informed decisions, the system should record in money terms every financial or economic fact which affects the income or financial position of the organisation. The functions of management can be described briefly as forecasting, planning, organising, co‐ordinating and controlling the use of resources with a view to achieving the stated objectives of an undertaking. The resources available to management include physical resources such as plant and machinery, financial resources, patents, trade marks, the reputation the company has with customers and creditors, and the human resources within the organisation. To the extent that an accounting system fails to record and present relevant information on any of these resources it can be regarded as inadequate as a source of information for control and decision‐making.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Extensive research has been undertaken into the proposition that certain organisational arrangements and working methods (e.g. centralisation, functional specialisation, multi‐disciplinary teamworking and training, organisation‐wide reward systems) influence the levels of dysfunctional conflict in businesses. The present study assessed the relevance of these variables for explaining the existence of conflict between marketing and other departments within non‐profit organisations. Additionally the investigation examined the role of “psychological distance” (a construct borrowed from the international marketing literature) as a possible determinant of conflict. A total of 148 marketing managers of large UK charities completed a questionnaire exploring these matters. It emerged that several of the factors known to mitigate dysfunctional conflict in the commercial world exerted similar effects in many of the sample charities. Psychological distance was significantly associated with both the presence of dysfunctional conflict within a charity and the manners whereby conflict resulted in adverse organisational consequences.

The Howard Shuttering Contractors case throws considerable light on the importance which the tribunals attach to warnings before dismissing an employee. In this case the tribunal took great pains to interpret the intention of the parties to the different site agreements, and it came to the conclusion that the agreed procedure was not followed. One other matter, which must be particularly noted by employers, is that where a final warning is required, this final warning must be “a warning”, and not the actual dismissal. So that where, for example, three warnings are to be given, the third must be a “warning”. It is after the employee has misconducted himself thereafter that the employer may dismiss.

THIS number will appear at the beginning of the Leeds Conference. Although there is no evidence that the attendance will surpass the record attendance registered at the Birmingham Conference, there is every reason to believe that the attendance at Leeds will be very large. The year is one of importance in the history of the city, for it has marked the 300th anniversary of its charter. We hope that some of the festival spirit will survive into the week of the Conference. As a contributor has suggested on another page, we hope that all librarians who attend will do so with the determination to make the Conference one of the friendliest possible character. It has occasionally been pointed out that as the Association grows older it is liable to become more stilted and formal; that institutions and people become standardized and less dynamic. This, if it were true, would be a great pity.