ASLIB: The Association for Information Management (often stylized ''Aslib'') was a British association of

special libraries A special library is a library that provides specialized information resources on a particular subject, serves a specialized and limited clientele, and delivers specialized services to that clientele. Special libraries include corporate librar ...

and information centres. It was founded in England in 1924 as the Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux. The organization ceased functioning as an independent organization in 2010, when it became a division of

Emerald Group Publishing Emerald Publishing Limited is a scholarly publisher of academic journals and books, headquartered in Leeds, England. Originally focused in the areas of social sciences and management, including management, business, education, and library stud ...

. Since 2015, ASLIB has existed only as Emerald's professional development arm.

Foundation and early years

The Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux was founded in September 1924 at a conference in

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon ...

, Hertfordshire. The third ASLIB conference was held at

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, 24-27 September 1926. Sandie Lindsay, Master of Balliol College, welcomed 150 delegates to the college.

Harry Levy-Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham Harry Lawson Webster Levy-Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham, (18 December 1862 – 20 July 1933), was a British newspaper proprietor. He was originally a Liberal politician before joining the Liberal Unionist Party in the late 1890s. He sat in the H ...

, who had studied at Balliol College remarked that "as science and learning knew no national bounds so internationalism was at once the secret and necessity of all advancement in original research and practical discovery. The Internationalisation of knowledge was INTERNATIONALISM IN EXCELSIS" and went on to speak warmly of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

, who had expanded their range of activities to include fostering greater intellectual co-operation amongst the nations of their parent body, the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

Documentation during World War II

ASLIB played a particular role in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

obtaining journals and other documents from the

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

countries. Many countries around the world lost access to the documentation of academic and scientific information during wartime. UK libraries were often able to obtain these documents through neutral European countries. With

Eugene Power Eugene Barnum Power (June 4, 1905 – December 6, 1993) was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, founder of the modern microfilm industry, and pioneer in the use of microfilm for the reproduction of scholarly publications. Life and care ...

, microfilming expert, and with funding from some US foundations such as the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

, ASLIB set up the Aslib Microfilm Service that was able to supply key publications to countries that had no other access to them.

Publications

ASLIB published these journals: * ASLIB Proceedings: New Information PerspectivesFirst published 1955. The first volume included a paper by Edward G. Brisch on the Brisch classification ("Subject analysis in eighty-one concepts" in ''ASLIB Proceedings'' vol. 1 no. 3, 1955, pp. 157-162). *

Journal of Documentation The ''Journal of Documentation'' is a double-blind peer-reviewed academic journal covering theories, concepts, models, frameworks, and philosophies in information science. The journal publishes scholarly articles, research reports, and critical re ...

* Library Hi Tech News : incorporating Online and CD Notes * Performance Measurement and Metrics * Program: electronic library & information systems * Records Management Journal * Reference Reviews : incorporating ASLIB Book Guide * ASLIB Directory of Information Sources in the United Kingdom (First published in 1928). From 1973, the Audiovisual Group of ASLIB, in conjunction with the Audiovisual Group of the Library Association, published: * The Audiovisual Librarian

References

External links

* {{Authority control Organizations established in 1924 Organizations disestablished in 2010 1924 establishments in the United Kingdom 2010 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Library associations in the United Kingdom Defunct organisations based in the United Kingdom

Foundation and early years

Documentation during World War II

Publications

See also

References

Further reading

External links