Vertical file : its place in the public library

Abstract

Given present resource constraints and the increasing availability of electronic access to information, it is timely to question the place of the Vertical File (Information File or Pamphlet File) in the public library. To this end, vertical-file managers from ten Wellington-region public libraries were interviewed as to service management and changes. Questions were structured around the following model: Vertical-File Purpose + Resource Input = Vertical-File Materials Vertical-File Materials + Access = Vertical-File Output Findings show we continue to maintain vertical files much as we have always done. In general, the potential for electronic access to vertical-file type information has yet to be realised. Vertical-file use and changes in use have not been documented, nor has best-fit with other information resources been determined. Vertical-file purpose is, therefore, largely, indeterminate. As well, time and staff constraints make management problematic. Resource input has not, however, been rationalised in response to these pressures and is now, generally, inadequate. Vertical-file materials may, therefore, prove inappropriate or inadequate for vertical-file purpose. Access is largely underdeveloped and output, in general, is measured simplistically. Simplistic measures are, however, unlikely to prove conclusive. Output unevaluated, vertical-file purpose cannot readily be determined.