Sociology and librarianship

The Aslib Social Sciences Group was established in 1969 to promote the study of two distinct subject areas: (a) the bibliography and handling of the literature of the social sciences; and (b) the application of social science methods to librarianship and information work. The major effort of the Group has, rightly in my opinion, been centred on bibliographical issues; the aim of investigating the social sciences for their relevance to librarianship has been served by two excellent papers, on the relevance of psychology and politics to librarianship. I want to try to add to the valuable insights of these two papers by looking at the potential contribution of a sociological perspective to our understanding and effectiveness as librarians. I am using the definition of sociology used in Worsley's introductory textbook: ‘A way of looking at man's behaviour as conditioned by his membership of social groups.’