The INFORMATION USES AND NEEDS OF SOCIAL SCIENTISTS: AN OVERVIEW OF INFROSS

Abstract

When INFROSS began in the autumn of 1967, although a large number of studies had been conducted into the requirements of scientists for information, very little had been done in the field of social science information. There are a number of possible reasons for this. Social scientists, faced with a much smaller total volume of information, were much less information‐conscious and less inclined to seek for solutions. There are very few specialist libraries in the social sciences, and few librarians were therefore confronted with social scientists' information needs in the same way as librarians in scientific libraries were confronted with users and their problems. Finally, until OSTI came along there was little in the way of funds to support this kind of research. This almost total absence of previous research had its disadvantages and advantages. There were very few clues to guide us, and we were therefore working to a certain extent in the dark. On the other hand, we had a clean and open field uncorrupted by confusing and non‐comparable studies. There is something to be said for being one of the first in a field. (For an extended review of relevant work previously carried out, Michael Brittain's book should be consulted.)