Science Reference Library Research Articles

From patchwork to network—Patent information dissemination in the United Kingdom

The article reviews the history of the development of the Patent Information Network in the U.K. Free distribution of patent specifications and other patent publications to libraries, Mechanics Institute and learned societies was begun by the Patent Office in 1854 and the service was greatly improved by the distribution of abridgments of British patent specifications starting in 1883. After the formation of the British Library in 1974 it took over the distribution of patent literature to public libraries, and in 1980 established the Patents Information Network (PIN) comprising the Science Reference Library as the hub and 26 provincial public libraries. This system was reviewed in 1985–1987, resulting in the elimination of seven smaller libraries from the network and the strengthening of the remaining smaller collections.

Remote Sensing Resources at the British Library

Remote sensing has rapidly become an important interdisciplinary research tool used in such fields as geology, agriculture, forestry, land use, oceanography and cartography. One of the first hurdles to confront a user is the vast amount and diversity of imagery available. To help such users, the British Library, since 1972, has offered search and browse facilities for Landsat and other imagery. Originally located at the B.L. Science Reference Library, the service has now been transferred to the B.L. Map Library where it has been updated and expanded following the recommendation made by the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology (Sub-ComIl)ittee I, Remote Sensing and Digital Mapping) that the British Library should become the retrospective archive for remote sensing imagery of the Uoited Kingdom. The archive consists of colour composite Landsat imagery of those scenes that cover the British Isles from the initiation of the Landsat programme in 1972 to the present. Only those images of good quality and in particular, low cloud cover have been chosen. Each image is a nominal 240mm x 240mm., at a scale of 1:1,000,000 and represents a scene area of 185 x 185km. Some Thematic Mapper (TM) quarter images at a scale of 1:500,000 are also available. The archive is divided into three sections, Landsats 1-3 and 4-5 Multispectral Scanner (MSS) imagery, and Landsat 4-5 TM imagery. Each section is arranged by the path and row of the Worldwide Referencing System (the Landsat geographic location index) and then by accession number. For each scene, denoted by a particular path/row, several images taken at different times may be available so enabling comparisons to be made between years and between different times of the year. There are 300 images in the archive, increasing by 25 per month to 600 while current images are received. Perhaps the most useful, and certainly the most popular remote sensing resource at the B.L. Map Library is the Eros Data Center's Microcatalog. This is a comprehensive microfiche catalogue which shows the availability and characteristics of Landsat data worldwide. In conjunction with the browse fues of imagery, it enables the enquirer to select imagery he or she requires and to actually see the image in the browse files. The coverage, cloud cover and quality can be seen before purchase; the enquirer does not have to rely solely on computer print-out the normal method of imagery selection. The Microcatalog which is updated regularly is arranged by path and row of the Worldwide Referencing System and then subdivided chronologically. Information given for each image includes date, which satellite e.g. Landsat 1, 2 etc., image quality of the bands, percentage cloud cover, centre coordinates and scene ID (the number to quote when ordering imagery). Also included is the microform number which refers to the browse fues of imagery. Most images are held in 16min fum format but from 1985 they are available on microfiche, a definite improvement in both quality and handling. Again the browse ftles are regularly updated. The remote sensing information point in the BL Map Library. A frame of the Landsat Microcatalog is mounted on the fiche reader while to the left an image from the 16mm browse fIles is shown. In the foreground a user consults some imagery from the archive of U.K. imagery.

British Library Services to Industry and Commerce

The British Library currently consists of two major operational divisions. The principal part of the library serving industry and commerce is the Science and Technology Division. The range of services comprising this division, e.g. the Business Information Service and the Science Reference Library, are outlined as well as facilities for on‐line searching and photocopying. The British Library's Strategic Plan for 1985–90 indicates that a high priority is to be given to industrial and commercial clients with enhanced services for business and industry.

Research

People After acting as a section head in BLR&DD since the summer of 1984 John Burchell has been officially promoted to this post. His particular responsibilities include dissemination, user education and professional education. Sue Howley, BLR&DD project officer responsible for information policy, has been promoted to the post of Head of Central Services, Science Reference and Information Service (formerly Science Reference Library). Dr Richard Snelling, the project officer responsible for social science information, has transferred to Western Manuscripts in the British Library's Special Collections directorate.

Rex vs Arkwright, 1785: A judgment for patents as information

Rex vs Arkwright, 1785: A judgment for patents as information

Japanese Business Information from the Science Reference Library

Japanese Business Information from the Science Reference Library

Fax: testing the uses of facsimile transmission at Aberdeen City libraries

Aberdeen's geographical isolation from other centres of commerce and industry in the United Kingdom encourages librarians in the city to examine all possible methods of communication, especially those systems which promise to deliver documents quickly. Getting information quickly has always been important to libraries which provide information to industry, and today's world of rapid technological change provides a further sense of urgency for those of us who serve areas such as the oil and gas industry, where tomorrow's information is always wanted yesterday! Our distance from other libraries such as the Mitchell Library in Glasgow and the Institute of Offshore Engineering in Edinburgh means that we cannot refer our readers to these centres but have to satisfy their enquiries ourselves. Close co‐operative links with other local libraries are important but don't diminish the need for quick and easy access to the provincial patent library in Glasgow, the Science Reference Library in London or other national libraries such as the BLLD (British Library Lending Division) in Boston Spa.

Commonplaces

Government and IT ‐ In spite of all the lip service paid by Government to making a business of information and encouraging increases in the amount of information available online, the Department of Trade is still indulging in foot dragging about online access to tradenames. Since 1979, tradenames have been held on computer and I was told in that year (NLW, November 1979) by the Department of Trade that an index to tradenames would be produced shortly and sold to libraries and others on COM‐fiche. Now two computer indexes are poised for the public market, but it seems the Department of Trade is once again playing a will we? won't we? game, because if the Department went online, the others might not bother. The first independent computer data base is with Datema Limited who have carried out very successful field trials with Laurence Tagg in Newcastle‐upon‐Tyne Business Library, as well as at Sheffield and the Science Reference Library; the second data base is with Compu‐Mark (UK) Limited in London.

THE BRITISH LIBRARY LENDING DIVISION: THE FIRST TEN YEARS

The British Library Lending Division came into being in 1973 when the National Central Library was integrated with the stock and services of the National Lending Library for Science and Technology at Boston Spa. The original buildings have been added to by specially designed accommodation. The loan/photocopy service, based on the use of a pre‐paid three‐part request form, has been supplemented by computer requesting, links through database operators such as DIALOG, and the telephone for urgent requests. Road/rail transport links with many parts of the country have been introduced and now account for over half of all items dispatched. A rapid growth in demand in the first seven years was followed by a decline and then a levelling off in 1982/83. The proportion of demand accounted for by International Services increased from 9% in 1973/74 to 21% in 1982/83. The Division has developed close connections with IFLA and the European Communities. As a result of a British Library Ad hoc Working Party on Union Catalogues, which reported in 1982, the Division's stock records and union catalogues are being automated. The British Union Catalogue of Periodicals ceased to be issued and its bibliographic function was replaced by Serials in the British Library, issued by the Bibliographic Services Division from 1981. Certain libraries with large or important stocks were designated to serve as backup collections; from 1979 more requests went to backups than were provided with locations. The British Library Reference Division has not only supplied photocopies as a backup but begun to lend items held in the Department of Oriental Manuscripts and Printed Books and the Science Reference Library. Close relations have been maintained with users and with relevant organizations. The acquisitions policy established in 1973 has changed little, though music scores were added in 1974, and rationalization of resources with Reference Division has resulted in a small drop in the number of serials acquired. The British National Book Centre activities of the NCL were merged with the donations activities of the NLLST to form the Gift and Exchange Section. Until 1982 the service was free but economies on staff and resources led to a restricted and priced service. Courses in the use of the scientific literature were extended to other subjects but had to be terminated as an economy measure in 1980. For similar reasons the ad hoc translating service was discontinued at the end of 1981. The cover‐to‐cover translations of (mainly Russian) scientific and technical journals sponsored by the NLLST have continued as part of the Division's extensive publication programme, which now recovers all its costs. Cost recovery increased from a quarter to a half of all expenditure over the period. The Division has kept up with relevant developments in automation and electronic publishing.

Some recent UK developments in encouraging the use of patents as source of information

Abstract The paper first outlines the network of responsibilities for information and library matters in the UK as they relate to patents and to the Science Reference Library. It then follows with a review of progress with developing a library-based information network for patents (PIN), with using new technologies and with educating potential users to appreciate the value of patent information. Finally, it briefly describes the new indexing schedules (UIS) being introduced by the UK Patent Office in 1983.

The scope of agricultural serials literature of the Science Reference Library

When faced with a subject such as the scope of Agriculture in SRL one is apt to say that almost everything is held and then to be faced with an irate reader who can't find just the one thing he has come all the way to consult. This may be inevitable with a large collection, where gaps are not found by staff until a missing item that somehow ought not to have been overlooked, is specifically requested.

Online searching of bibliographic geological databases and their use at the Science Reference Library

Bibliographic databases consist of records of publications and many are now available for online computer searching as well as being used in the production of abstracting and indexing journals. The three major online databases of interest to geologists are GeoRef (produced by the American Geological Institute), GeoArchive (produced by Geosystems, London), and the earth sciences subfile of PASCAL (produced by the Centre de Documentation Scientifique et Technique, CNRS, Paris). Online searching is very much quicker than manual searching of abstracting journals and allows more complex and complete searches to be carried out. The costs involved in online searching include database access fees, telecommunications charges, and the cost of equipment and staff time. The Science Reference Library runs a publicly available online search service with access to over 50 scientific and technical databases. 1000 searches were carried out in the last financial year.

Access to patent information and documentation in public patent libraries

Abstract The paper summarizes the results of a study performed in 1980 for the Commission of the European Communities. The objective of the study was: to study the organization of existing public patent libraries and on this basis, supplemented with interviews with experts on patent information, to draft recommendations for the improvement of access to patent information in public patent libraries. The patent offices of the Federal Republic of Germany and France and the European Patent Office were visited in addition to the Science Reference Library in London and patent libraries and patent information centres in: Nurnberg, Liverpool, Lyon, Strasbourg and Toulouse. The most important problem areas identified are: identification of user's needs, the extent of the documentation needed, publicity programmes, location of the patent information centres, organization and staffing of the centres. The study is a supplement to two previous investigations sponsored by the Commission: Survey of Readership in Public Patent Libraries and Investigation of the Present and Future Use of Patent Literature .

Taxonomy and the Science Reference Library Classification

The Science Reference Library Classification was developed during the middle of the 1960s as a scheme to arrange books on the shelves of a large open‐access library integrating the whole of Science and Technology in a single collection. It is intended to help in the retrieval of information which is not indexed elsewhere, by abstracting and bibliographic services, and to make ‘browsing’ by the large number of readers (one‐third, according to the National Libraries Committee report) who enter the library without a specific reference in mind as fruitful as possible.

PROGRESS IN DOCUMENTATION

Perhaps the first whisper of the British Library(hereinafter BL) may be found in the report of the Parry Committee which recommended the formation of a national policy in regard to libraries and the provision of information. This was swiftly followed by the Dainton Committee report, a White Paper, and finally the British Library Act, which came into force on 1 July 1973 when the Board of the new BL formally took over responsibility for the library departments (excepting Prints and Drawings) and the Science Reference Library from the Trustees of the British Museum, plus the National Lending Library for Science and Technology and the former National Central Library. To this weighty nucleus were added the major responsibilities of the former Office of Scientific and Technical Information, in April 1974, forming the basis of a new Research and Development Department, and the British National Bibliography, in August 1974, as the foundation of the new Bibliographic Services Division. The way for this very considerable re‐shaping of the country's library resources had been thoroughly prepared by a body familiarly known as BLOC (British Library Organizing Committee) between January and July 1973. There are a number of accounts of the creation of the new library which do not differ in substance. Later developments can be studied from the series of annual reports which provide the most authoritative data available, although it should be noted that statistics provided are not always compatible from year to year.

SRL removals

Due to termination of the lease there, the Science Reference Library will be leaving its accommodation in Porchester Gardens during 1981. Arrangements are being made to transfer the services to the Library's building at 9–13 Kean Street, London WC2B 4AT (off Drury Lane, close to the Aldwych) which at present forms an annexe for the Holborn Branch.

Journal evaluation

Journal of the American Society for Information ScienceVolume 31, Issue 6 p. 453-453 Letters to the Editor Journal evaluation Maurice B. Line, Maurice B. Line British Library, Lending Division Boston Spa, Wetherby West Yorkshire, LS23 7BQ EnglandSearch for more papers by this authorA. Sandison, A. Sandison British Library Science Reference Library 10 Porchester Gardens London, W2 4DE EnglandSearch for more papers by this author Maurice B. Line, Maurice B. Line British Library, Lending Division Boston Spa, Wetherby West Yorkshire, LS23 7BQ EnglandSearch for more papers by this authorA. Sandison, A. Sandison British Library Science Reference Library 10 Porchester Gardens London, W2 4DE EnglandSearch for more papers by this author First published: November 1980 https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.4630310614Citations: 1AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume31, Issue6November 1980Pages 453-453 RelatedInformation

The Science Reference Library Classification for books on shelves

Information in books—which are not normally covered by indexing services—can be redis covered at the shelf; a main objective of the SRL Classification Scheme is to make such dis covery easier. Any book is a cluster of information, which should overlap the contents of both its neighbours on the shelf. The SRL scheme adopts a ribbon ( Wyndham Hulme's "chain" ) principle, interweaving sciences and technologies ( 25 per cent more compact in actual searches than Dewey or UDC). Books are placed by their inherent subjects, not by the audience or application. The mixed subject notation averages 4·4 characters per title.

THE USE OF SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE AT THE SCIENCE REFERENCE LIBRARY FOR UPDATING SEARCHES

The use per issue‐day of recent issues of 125 periodicals on open access at the Science Reference Library (SRL) has been studied for over four months. There is statistical evidence for the expected separate phase within ‘updating’ of ‘current awareness scanning’ of issues which have arrived since the reader's last visit to the library: its half‐life of two to three months reflects the pattern of reader‐visit frequencies rather than any characteristics of the literature. The isolated uses of issues of periodicals, representing a part of ‘following up searches’, showed no significant relation between use and age. The irregular monographic and conference series, with their unpredictable dates of arrival at the shelf, were not subject to current awareness scanning. Of the regular periodicals in the two chemical technologies, ‘magazines’ were more heavily used than ‘journals’ and, as expected, issues in the English language more heavily than those in foreign languages: these differences were less marked in chemical sciences than in chemical technologies. The results include figures for the variances of use data. These were so high as to suggest that lists of periodical titles ranked by use per issue data are of very little value in critical decisions between one little used title and another. Differences in rank, resulting from a difference of less than fifteen uses obtained from less than five monthly surveys, are unlikely to be significant. Ranking by use per title instead of by use per issue (or equivalent) tends to arrange journals in size order.

Survey of the Cost of Using the British Post Office's International Data Base Access Service at the Science Reference Library

This service began in February 1977 to enable users in the UK to communicate with online information retrieval services in the United States. Up to that time, access could only legitimately be obtained by dialling continental Tymnet nodes. There has been a certain amount of uneasiness about the charges made by the PO for this service because a large element of the cost is based on the number of characters transmitted and this is difficult to assess. In order to check just what it is costing we have made a count of the characters in a sample of 21 searches, and determined the costs of characters transmitted and link up time. These are all searches carried out for users as part of the SRL's Online Search Service and so consist of fairly intensive searching with few periods when no data was either being input or received at the terminal.