The alternative information centres were a feature of the anarcho-pacifist attempt at social engineering

Social engineering (political science)

Social engineering is a discipline in political science that refers to efforts to influence popular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale, whether by governments or private groups. In the political arena, the counterpart of social engineering is political engineering.For various reasons,...

 from the bottom up which took place from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s and which was referred to as the alternative society. One of these centres was in West London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and was called BIT

BIT

BIT was an information service, publisher, travel guide and social centre founded, in 1968, by John 'Hoppy' Hopkins. It pre-dated the internet as a free service that would try to find any information asked for and derived its name from the smallest unit of computer information.-BIT:BIT was...

, a name which is a pun on the computer term for the smallest possible unit of information and 'Beta IT' as it was started by activists allied to "International Times

International Times

International Times was an underground newspaper founded in London in 1966. Editors included Hoppy, David Mairowitz, Pete Stansill, Barry Miles, Jim Haynes and playwright Tom McGrath...

". Another centre was in east London and was called simply East. The one in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 was called M.A.G.I.C. (Manchester Alternative General Information Centre

Manchester Alternative General Information Centre

Manchester Alternative General Information Centre or M.A.G.I.C. was an alternative society centre in Manchester, England, in the 1970s.-External links:**...

) and there was also one in Glastonbury

Glastonbury

Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...

, Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

.

The centres were promoted through the underground press

Underground press

The underground press were the independently published and distributed underground papers associated with the counterculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and other western nations....

 alongside of the drugs

Recreational drug use

Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...

 information centre at Release. The clip seen in the image above is the Community Services listing from International Times of September 1971 and shows listed the following alternative information centres:

• Amsterdam: Release
• Brighton: Bit by Bit
• Bristol: Buzz
• Cardiff: Rib
• Cornwall: Ohm
• Devon: Ark/Dwarves
• Glasgow: Gap
• Hull: Outsider Projects
• Lancaster: Shop
• Leeds: Lip
• Lincoln: Oasis
• Liverpool: Open Projects
• London: Advise, Agitprop, BIT
  BIT
  BIT was an information service, publisher, travel guide and social centre founded, in 1968, by John 'Hoppy' Hopkins. It pre-dated the internet as a free service that would try to find any information asked for and derived its name from the smallest unit of computer information.-BIT:BIT was...
  
  , Nightline, Release
• Manchester: Magic
  Manchester Alternative General Information Centre
  Manchester Alternative General Information Centre or M.A.G.I.C. was an alternative society centre in Manchester, England, in the 1970s.-External links:**...
  
  
• Preston: (no name listed, only a phone number)
• Portsmouth: Community Advice
• Rochdale: Axis
• Stoke On Trent: Cleveland Wrecking Yard
• Uxbridge: Unit One