Although no library has ever been self‐sufficient, full recognition of local insufficiency has developed only in fairly recent times, as the output of published material has grown at an unprecedented rate and at the same time its bibliographic control has improved enormously, even though...

At present bibliographic records are being produced for many of the same books by publishers, commercial companies and libraries, in spite of the cost of producing them, and their inadequacy for subject access. Analysis of needs of different categories of users suggests that if adequate records...