Gaps and inadequacies in the bibiliographic control of the publications of the European Communities

My first reaction on receiving the invitation to give this paper was that half an hour would be long enough only to sketch in barest outline the most serious gaps and inadequacies in the bibliographical control of Community publications. My second and more considered reaction was the rigor mortis would have certainly set in long before the completion of a systematic, title by title description of the bibliographical deficiencies of numerous catalogues and indexes produced by HMSO, commercial publishers and the European Communities themselves. Consequently, I have decided to take a rather broad view of the problems of bibliographical control and particularly, to try to relate these problems to the publishing policy and practice of the European Communities, so far as that may be discerned. I have also decided to restrict my comments to Community publications alone.