THE BRITISH LIBRARY AND THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY: A VIEW FROM A BELEAGUERED IVORY TOWER

For centuries the university library has been looked on by both its users and its custodians as something which is inert and lifeless. Paradoxically it has also had a steady growth which has at times appeared to be uncontrollable. However, university libraries in Britain over the last two decades have worked hard to change this image and have had some success in doing so. The new universities created by Robbins brought with them a fresh and dynamic outlook on academic librarianship which sought to provide a library service rather than a library. This new outlook was taken up at first hesitantly and then enthusiastically by the older universities, and British university librarianship entered the eighties buoyantly and optimistically, but with a wary eye on the danger signals that were beginning to appear. The savage cuts which are to be inflicted on all universities over the next few years will almost certainly be felt more deeply in the libraries than in other parts of the university. A book fund will not be sacrosanct if it can be shown that the alternative is an academic appointment.