The ROLE OF The BRITISH NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY IN The APPLICATION OF COMPUTERS TO PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEMS

Two papers this morning, both putting the public library point of view, have thrown doubt on the wisdom of using a central cataloguing agency, such as the British National Bibliography, in local library computer systems. Miss Johnson discussed four or five difficulties which she thought would militate against a national central agency, though she seemed to think that a regional central agency might not suffer from these difficulties, while Mr Maidment declared that it was easier to make local arrangements to meet local requirements than to try to integrate local systems with a national or perhaps international organization.