British and Irish Association of Law Librarians Committee on Co-operation

Extract

The British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) was formed in 1969, during a period of great critical self-examination in the British library world. On the library scene as a whole, ad hoc remedies had, for some time, been applied to the deficiencies of a system which had evolved out of a more static age, and it was widely apparent that the whole machinery required overhaul and rationalisation at national level if scarce resources were to be effectively used, and if the expensive new technologies were to be fully utilised by libraries of all kinds and sizes throughout the country. The appointment of the Dainton Committee in March, 1969, to examine the role of the national libraries, was the Government's response to this situation and was the culmination of a series of earlier enquiries into both public and university libraries. The principal recommendation in the report of this Committee – for a unified national library organisation to administer several previously autonomous bodies – was clearly one which, if accepted, would affect all types of library, including law libraries. The earlier history of law libraries in this country had been one of relative isolationism – a reflection, perhaps, of the profession they served. But times were changing rapidly and many libraries were facing new challenges, often with inadequate staff or financial support. Increasingly, the problems could be solved only by sensible policies of co-ordination and co-operation between libraries. Clearly one of the most urgent tasks of the new Association was to establish co-ordinated policies for such co-operation and to formulate an agreed approach vis à vis national developments.