Introduction
by ANTHONY VAUGHAN
This book has been compiled for the benefit of the schools of
library, archive and information science, for use in their courses on the
management of information services and systems. It does not seek to replace the
many standard textbooks on this subject which already exist, but is intended to
supplement them. In particular, the book may be able to provide a more
international perspective than many of the textbooks, which are mostly written
with the information services of one particular country in mind.
The work takes the form of a collection of writings on the
management aspects of libraries, archives and information units, writings which,
we hope, will be of interest and use to both students and teachers. Its scope is
wide, partly because the reader is avowedly international, and partly because of
the nature of management.
HOW THE BOOK WAS COMPILED
The present book is a collaborative work. The editor submitted
an outline plan of the work to Unesco in 1985, following guidelines suggested by
the General Information Programme. Unesco then furnished the editor with a list
of specialists in various parts of the world who were asked to suggest material
which could go in the book. The editor selected appropriate items from the lists
received and filled in any gaps with additional material. The contents of the
work were then sent to the International Federation of Library Associations and
Institutions (IFLA), the Fration Internationale de Documentation (FID), and
the International Council on Archives (ICA) for their comments. However the
final choice of items selected for the reader was made by the editor, who takes
full responsibility for the contents of the book.
The following types of material were sought in order to select
items for this reader:
- books or articles addressed to an international
readership (this category of material was thought to be particularly valuable,
but little was available, apart from Unesco's own publications);
- authoritative works which are well regarded in the country of
origin, and which talk about the subject in sufficiently general terms for it to
be readily understandable to readers in another country;
- books or articles with a comparative element in them; for
instance those discussing a management practice developed in one culture in
terms of another;
- material which took the form of a discussion, where differing
points of view were clearly presented in a lively way;
- articles or extracts from books which to the editor seemed to
be clearly written, which used the language well, and which were free from
allusions or other references which would mystify an international readership;
- case studies relating to a particular country, especially if
it seemed that the implications were of more general interest.
A DIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE...
One of the original intentions, when Unesco commissioned this
work, was to draw out the common elements in information management, and to
illustrate them with authoritative and interesting writings. Underlying this aim
was the assumption that there were universal principles of management, which
would be valid for all places and for all times.
However, the more one goes beyond a single country, or a single
cultural area, the more difficult it is to discern these common principles. Some
principles, certainly, are more widespread than others, but this seems to be
because they are the product of influential or powerful countries or are thought
to be well-suited to a particular social or economic structure.
Even if we were to accept that such universal principles do
exist, the manner of their application varies widely. It is easy to understand
why this is so: management practices reflect the social, cultural and economic
patterns of the country: they cannot simply be transposed without modification
from one country to another and be expected to work. The literature of library
and information management confirms this variety. Nearly all of it is written
from the point of view of one country, or perhaps a group of countries of
similar cultural tradition.
One might imagine that since libraries, archives and information
centres do similar sorts of things, then their management practices should also
be similar. There is some truth in this, but less than one might think.
Information units, libraries and archives are rarely independent units in their
own right. They are normally part of larger organizations of many different
types: state bureaucracies, local or provincial governments, public and private
corporations, professional firms, learned societies, schools, universities,
voluntary bodies, and so on. Management practices vary greatly between these
different types of institution, and the libraries and information units take on
the administrative colouring of the parent organization.
...BUT MANY COMMON CONCERNS
It may be difficult to discern any universal principles of
management, and management practices may vary, but there is no doubt that
librarians, documentalists and archivists share common management
concerns. All over the world there is the same preoccupation with
finance, staff, efficiency, communication, buildings, meeting users' needs, and
so on.
This book, therefore, will present a selection of writings about
common management concerns. It is a book to dip into. Not all articles will be
relevant to all countries, and some have been chosen to illuminate particular
management concerns felt by information professionals in particular countries.
But the student will, we hope, be able to find a good deal of interest and value
in these pages.
It draws on material from many countries, and attempts to be
truly international. However neither the distinguished panel of advisers, still
less the editor can be familiar with all the world's literature on this subject.
In particular, contributions in oriental languages have had to be left on one
side for linguistic reasons, and the very considerable literature from a number
of other countries makes only a brief appearance in this pages.
The reader will probably find it helpful to browse through the
commentary which follows to see what material will be most useful for his or her
purpose. For technical reasons there is no index, but the annotations in the
following pages serve as a reasonable guide to the contents of the book.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The editor would like to thank the following experts, nominated
by Unesco, who kindly supplied lists of suitable material or made suggestions
for the reader:
Madame L. Bachr (Rabat), Mrs Vicenta CortAlonso (Madrid), Dr
Frank B. Evans (Washington), Mr Jaime Robredo (Brasilia), Dr Robert Steuart
(Boston), Ms Rosa Vallejo (Manila), Mr C.K. Wambugu (Nairobi) and Dr Paul
Wasserman (College Park, Maryland).
He is also grateful to the undermentioned people who helped him
in various ways: by translating or evaluating certain material, or by supplying
additional items:
Madame Gladys Adda (Tunis), Dr Leopold Auer (Wien), Ms Gertrud
Erbach (London), Mrs Vera Gerudapest) Mrs M. Hines (London), Ms Aleksandra
Horvat (Zagreb), Ms Hilda Kaune-Rivera (London), Mr Gr My (Budapest), Ms
Greta Mole (Ware, England), Mrs Maria-Nieves Troubridge (London) and Mrs Eva
Wade (London).
The editor would also like to thank the copyright owners of the
material included in this reader for allowing the material to be reproduced and
translated. Full details appear in the body of the book.
Finally, he is grateful to Monsieur Yves Courrier and Madame A.
Schurek of Unesco's General Information Programme for much helpful advice.
Anthony Vaughan
London,
October
1986.
