Abstract
A ONE-DAY conference convened by the Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux was held at Friends House, London, on February 15, to discuss problems connected with the indexing and filing of unpublished material. Some hundred and fifty members and guests were present. The chair was taken by Captain Harry Ward, secretary of the Industrial Management Research Association, and papers were presented by Miss M. Shaw on “The Indexing and Filing of Correspondence in the Laboratories of J. Lyons & Co., Ltd.”, Dr. Holmstrom of I.C.I., Ltd., on “Moot Points in the Filing of Business Correspondence” and Mr. K. S. Jefferies of the Treasury on “The Practice of the Civil Service”. These were followed by Miss L. G. Thomerson of the Printing and Allied Trades Research Association, Mr. A. E. Dodd of the British Refractories Research Association, Mr. W. Ashworth of the British Cast Iron Research Association, and Miss D. Knight of the National Institute for Research in Dairying, who described the schemes used by their organisations to deal with technical data contained in correspondence, certificates of tests, technical reports and other unpublished material. Interesting points that emerged from the discussion were the importance of the routine handling of such documents and the widespread misconception that 'filing' is an unskilled job. The Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux was urged to investigate the present facilities for training and to formulate the qualifications needed for such posts. If the demand is sufficient it is hoped to publish the proceedings of the conference together with a summary of the discussions. Non-members interested should notify the General Secretary, ASLIB, 52 Bloomsbury Street, London, W. C. I.
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Indexing and Filing. Nature 157, 259 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/157259a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/157259a0