Information services in university libraries

Abstract

Although information services in university libraries were suggested as far back as 1939, it has only been since the mid‐sixties that the information function has been seriously developed by university libraries in this country. Such developments have largely been confined to the technological universities and a few of their ‘new’ and ‘redbrick’ counterparts, but the case for them has been convincingly argued and interest in the provision of information services has been general for some time, as was shown by the Report on Education and Training for Scientific and Technological Library and Information Work published by the Department of Education and Science in 1968. In this Report twenty‐six out of thirty‐seven university librarians indicated that, resources permitting, they would like to extend the services offered to science and technology departments, with special library standards in mind. The rise of the computer‐based services and the need to budget for their use may further accelerate the consideration of information provision in university circles and the coming Quinquennium seems likely to be of particular importance in the development of information services in universities. Some consideration of the implications and problems associated with them, especially for older universities, where staff are not used to such services, may therefore be useful at this time.