The invitation to write an updating commentary on my 1984 paper came as a considerable surprise. As I have been retired for nineteen years during which time I have consciously distanced myself from my profession, partly in the interests of my successors who have had no need for intrusions by an echo of the past, and partly because I have been able to occupy myself in absorbing pursuits in another area of particular interest to me, I was singularly unprepared to make meaningful comments on issues from the past which may well be less than compelling for the librarians of today. I have therefore taken advantage of the wisdom of the current librarians of Curtin, Edith Cowan and Murdoch Universities, and some of their staff, and I am indebted to their patience in responding to my questioning. However I accept responsibility for the comments that follow.