PROGRESS IN DOCUMENTATION: British University Library Statistics

Fifty years ago the first official statistics for British university libraries were published by the then newly‐established University Grants Committee. Our present purpose is not to review the intervening half‐century nor to compare British attempts to collect statistics in the past with those of other countries. Thompson has already covered much of that ground. Our aim is to consider the sources of information which currently supplement the UGC returns and to comment upon future developments.