Setting up Romney House Library Available to Purchase

Romney House Library (RHL) is a special library dedicated to serving Department of the Environment staff responsible for policy formulation and inspection in the area of environmental protection. It started in September 1988. For about ten years previously there had been a Chemical Information Service (CIS) which served staff concerned with toxic chemicals, this had been staffed by a Librarian and half an Administrative Officer. For about eight years the staff involved with radioactive waste had maintained a collection of reports. This occupied an AO for about 15% of his time. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution had recently been transferred to DoE from the Health and Safety Executive and combined with the Inspection functions already undertaken by DoE to make up a reformed HMIP. The librarian of CIS had left in 1987 and the services of CIS were continued by the head of the Library Research branch. The opportunity was taken, after a survey of the needs of the recently reformed HMIP, to relaunch CIS as RHL to serve the wider range of customers. OS's customer base as about 20 technical staff: RHL's customer base is over 200.