The Libraries
For each record we have the named subject specialist librarian. We hold details of those librarians who have the purchasing decision within their subject. As well as this, we also make sure that each library has annually renewing purchasing budgets and collects in the English language.
The libraries are categorized into library types, these being Academic, Corporate/Industrial/Commercial, Government, Legal, Main Public Reference, Medical, and Research libraries.
Academic libraries
Institute, institution and association libraries are on the database. Predominantly these are at university level throughout the UK and Europe, with the addition of about 500 British Colleges of Further & Higher education. Special subject colleges e.g. art, law, music are included. These are sometimes fashionably known as ‘resource centres’. Each university has between 5 and 200 libraries (each tagged by their purchasing subjects). They include the university’s central library, and separately, faculty departmental, research, and affiliated university institute libraries. Wherever possible we have the named subject librarians.
Corporate/Industrial/Commercial libraries
They can be research and development laboratory libraries, production plant libraries, standards libraries, export intelligence libraries. There are also head office libraries and research information centres, fashionably termed ‘knowledge centres'. Banks have economic research libraries, architects practices have libraries, accountants have tax libraries, and engineering companies have engineering and material sciences libraries. Grouped together, these are known as ‘special libraries'.
Government libraries
Each country has a wide subject range of government and related agencies libraries. These range from defence to export to parliamentary, to transport research, to veterinary libraries. Cumulatively they are a large and quite well funded portion of your total library market.
Legal libraries
Approximately 2,200 leading law libraries are on the database, from which UK & European law practice libraries can be selected, as can UK and European academic law libraries, and yet more cover international law.
Main Public Reference libraries
We include every public library authority in Britain, but we only target the main reference libraries in each, where the reference librarian is a part of the purchasing decision process. In Continental European countries we generally only include the city reference libraries, or the pertinent regional reference library.
Medical libraries
In the database are 2,000 libraries covering all the medical disciplines. Many of these will be teaching hospital libraries. More libraries cover related fields such as pharmacology, biochemistry, nursing and veterinary sciences.
Research libraries
Most important are special subject libraries supporting research. Many are attached or affiliated to universities as research institute libraries. Other libraries are within independent research bodies and government. Within a subject discipline we can identify the elite research libraries. We can also identify the research libraries in UK and European universities which are in receipt of E.U. (FP6) research funding.
