The Relevance of Recent Trends in Economic History to the Information Needs of Research Workers in the Field

This paper focuses on the library needs of economists doing research in economic history. After a brief reference to the special characteristics of the information required by the economic historian, it discusses recent trends in the subject—particularly the persistent interest in economic growth and development since the early 1950s and the ‘new’ economic history with its heavy dependence on statistical-analytical techniques. Both trends have increased the volume of quantitative data and widened the range of the qualitative data required for research in economic history. The last section suggests an order of priorities for university libraries providing economic historians with research material.