Domsa Károlyné, Fekete Gézáné, Kovács Mária (szerk.): Gondolatok a könyvtárban / Thoughts in the Library (A MTAK közleményei 30. Budapest, 1992)

KÖNYVTÁR ÉS KORSZERŰSÉG – LIBRARY AND MODERNITY

Social science research and information needs in Europe Arnaud F. Marks Social Science Information and Documentation Centre (SWIDOC), Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam Introduction Political, economic, social and cultural relations among the ca. 35 countries of our continent are changing thoroughly. In the recent past contacts between East and West were limited and determined by the rigid separation of the two blocs by the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall. Now it is relatively easy to develop biand multilateral relations in various fields between almost all European countries. However, the process of liberalisation of the Eastem bloc is beset with problems. Nationalist and ethnic sentiments are fiaring up and lead to a revolutionary decomposition of the bloc and its (trans-) national institutions and to painful processes of civil strife. The situation is aggravated by disastrous economic conditions and scarcity of economic resources. Liberalisation and decomposition in Central and Eastem Europe (terms now having more geographical than sociopolitical connotations) coincide with the multifaceted and, of course, not at all unproblematic process of integration of the Western European Community. This integration process naturally affects alsó science and scientific information and documentation. In the European Commu172 „ Thoughts in the library "