Regional Environmental Libraries

Collins, Kay

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/1600 Copy

Description

Title

Regional Environmental Libraries

Author(s)

Collins, Kay

Issue Date

1972

Keyword(s)

Environmental protection --Information services

Abstract

Not long ago there were not very many environmental libraries. There were a few libraries which specialized in some of the various subject fields, but there just were not very many environmental libraries. Now, it seems to be the hottest topic since Sputnik. The environment itself is a topic which is now responsible for political changes, economic changes and individual lifestyle changes. Therefore, more libraries are beginning to enter into the picture, for many reasons. Some reasons are altruistic, but they run the gamut from personal belief in problem solutions, to public demand, to just trying to get a share of the slowly growing sources of money. As with other types of libraries, various kinds of environmental libraries are beginning to develop: small collections of magazines designed to meet immediate demands of the public or the group served; and large government collections being expanded to meet new research and policy needs. But this leaves a group in between which is trying to serve a large public on a limited budget. It is well known that the environmental field is a very broad one which touches every subject matter conceivable: pure and applied sciences, social sciences, economics, history, architecture, psychology, even literature, religion and semantics. It is a problem for libraries to fill the gap and supply environmental information, especially as publications mushroom in volume and cost. A small local library is unable to cope with it, and even some larger college, university, and government libraries are unable to do a passable job. They simply cannot afford it; some government libraries are already beginning to feel the economy measures of the Nixon administration. While their budgets are kept low, they are expected to fill the demands of their users for necessary information.

Publisher

Graduate School of Library Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Series/Report Name or Number

Allerton Park Institute (18th : 1972)

ISSN

0536-4604

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/1600

Copyright and License Information

Copyright owned by Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1972.

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