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I still have an affiliation to BSI, but my current prime role is with a new organisation called Resource which is half‐way between the British Government and BSI, with an express role to improve the influence of the UK through co‐operative projects with overseas countries. So, the sort of information consultancy I was doing in Thailand and Saudi Arabia, and various other countries, I am still doing but with a wider brief to help not only BSI but other quality organisations and I hope possibly organisations like the ones you work for. One of the reasons why I am saying this is to encourage you to see me at a later stage if you have any interest in overseas developments of projects on the information side, to see whether we can assist or even contribute funds towards the development of such things. Having only been with Resource since 25 January 1988, I think it would be undiplomatic of me to speak on their behalf, so for the purpose of this exercise I am speaking only as John Widdowson, individual and traveller, with, hopefully, some outside view.

THE last‐but‐one session at the national conference was valuable. In form, it took the shape of a symposium, launched by Royston Brown, continued by Max Broome and supported by various walk‐on characters of high standing in librarianship, all discussing the report of the library Advisory Council (England) entitled Future development of libraries: the organisational and policy framework. (DES, 1979).

What kind of consultative machinery is needed and who should be involved?

In November 1981, the Joint Consultative Committee of Aslib, the Institute of Information Scientists, the Library Association, SCONUL, and the Society of Archivists, organized a Seminar at the Lane End Management Centre, the purpose of which was to clarify ideas about actions which the constituent bodies wished Government to take in the development of a national information policy.

ROYTON BROWN, County Librarian of Cambridgeshire, writes: I have recently seen the comments in the editorial of the May issue concerning the legality and morality of a county library system insisting that persons appointed to professional posts should be members of the Library Association.

The National Centre for Information Media and Technology (CIMTECH) is developing a full text database of optical disc trade literature and journal articles. The database will be held on a WORM (write once, read many) disc and it will be used to investigate the economic, technical and administrative issues associated with the application of writable discs in library and information sciences. There will be opportunities to see demonstrations of the system throughout the course of the project. Contact: Tony Hendley, CIMTECH, Hatfield Polytechnic, College Lane, Hatfield, Herts AL10 9AB (Tel. 07072 79691).

When interviewing prospective students I used to ask why they wanted to be librarians rather than booksellers. Almost invariably there was a look of amazement on their faces and they confessed to a reluctance to charge money for the services they were to perform.

“Corporate planning” is the term which, perhaps more than any other, epitomises the adoption of business management techniques by the public sector. In Britain, with massive local government reorganisation in 1974, many librarians were forced to come to terms with such techniques whether they liked it or not. Of course, in its purest sense corporate planning applies to the combined operation of an entire organisation be it local authority, university, government department or industrial firm. However, in this paper I do not intend discussing “the grand design” whereby the library is merely a component part of a greater body. Rather, it is my intention to view the library as the corporate body. It is a perfectly possible and very useful exercise to apply the principles of corporate planning, and the management techniques involved, to the running of a library or group of libraries. Indeed, many librarians have already done this either independently or as their part in the corporate plan of their parent organisation.

Those were the final words of Leslie Wilson's retirement address to the Aslib Annual Conference in Edinburgh four years ago almost to the day.

Resource sharing is an important element in the national planning of library and information services to meet the needs of information, education and culture of the whole community at all levels. An overview of resource sharing practices is presented, with particular reference to the British scene. It is also argued that, with the approach of the Single Market in 1992, resource sharing should now be considered on a European scale. In conclusion, some problems associated with the practice of resource sharing are considered.