The Role of the Industrial Library

The role of the library in any field is changing and developing. The impetus for change must come from the librarian rather than the employer, whose view of change may be rather narrow. Increasingly the industrial library's role will be close involvement in the organisation's business activities, identifying information needs and giving advice to meet those needs. This will include exploitation of external resources, acquisition of special collections and an active role in the development of the “corporate memory” and integrated information systems. The role of the library within its own organisation is reviewed, and its place within the information network. Its influence on the integration of “internal” and “external” information is discussed.