The retrieval process begins when a lack of information shows itself in a human mind and the decision is taken to find out if this information has bee… - Douglas John Foskett

One of the most prominent figures in contemporary British library and information science, Douglas John Foskett made many, varied, and important contributions to library and information science. Classification was always one of Foskett's major interests, and in 1952 he was one of the founders of the Classification Research Group in Britain. But he proved equally influential in the fields of comparative librarianship and library education and in the development of the Library Association (LA).

The aim of an information service is to organise the literature on a systematic basis in order to save the time of research workers.

Since books are not their primary source materials, as they are for research in the humanities, most scientists prefer to spend their time on experiments and not on reading.