possibilities of international diffusion and documentation of scientific innovations by...

ht. Libr. Rev. (1969) 1, 21-34

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE INSTITUTE FOR MASS COMMUNICATIONS

RESEARCH, LAUSANNE UNIVERSITY

Possibilities of International Diffusion and Documentation of Scientific Innovations by Communication Satellites

H. C. CAMPBELL?

CHANGING CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENTIFIC DOCUMENTATION PRACTICES

The increase in man’s knowledge is a matter that always has been of concern to scientists, librarians and educators. At the present time there are at least 30,000 periodicals in the field of science and technology which report annually the results of scientific innovation in more than 100 c0untries.i

The cost of an individual scientific or technical research project is now so high (estimated at probably as much as $40.00 in the U.S.A. for each report produced) that it has become increasingly important to avoid needless duplication of effort. The acquisition of information by scientific research involves two kinds of expenditure, first the actual cost in the time of the research workers and second, the cost of supplies and equipment. The chances that the information required is already available in some form are very high. However, there are two many reports produced for any one person to handle.

In 1966, in the single field of chemistry, Chemical Abstracts, U.S.A. published over 216,746 abstracts of papers, reports and patents, an increase of 11.2 % over the 1965 total. During the period 1962-1966, abstracts published in the same journal totalled 933,543, an increase of 50.3% over the previous five-year period.

t Chief Librarian, Toronto Public Libraries, Toronto, Canada. l K. P. Barr (1967). Estimates of the number of currently available scientific and technical

publications. 3. Dam. 23, 110.

22 H. C. C.4MPBELL

The annual production of chemical and chemical engineering papers has more than doubled in the last eight years.1

Approximately 15% of the world’s current output of scientific and technical papers and 30% of its technical journals contain information of chemical or chemical engineering significance. While just over 2000 journals yield 90% of the articles abstracted, Chemical Abstracts services must monitor nearly 12,000 periodicals from over 100 countries published in more than 50 languages in order to complete its coverage of chemical science and technology. The number of periodicals monitored has doubled in the last 20 years, and some 70% of the papers abstracted now originate outside of the United States of America. In addition, this service abstracts information from patents issued by 24 nations and from some 600 to 700 monograph publications each year.

In the first quarter of 1967, the time which elapsed between journal publication date and appearance of the abstract in Chemical Abstracts was 109 days. A quarter of all abstracts of papers appeared within 70 days of journal publication. For patent abstracts, the median time which elapsed was 118 days.

While most records of present-day scientific innovation in the world are published in English, Russian, French, and German are also important. Information is indexed and abstracted in many countries by national abstracting services. Some indication of languages used may be secured from the table below.

TABLE I

Language breakdown of literature indexed in six major English-language abstracting and inderiug publicatio?S

Language Journal

Chemical Biological Physics Engineering Index hfathematical Abstracts Abstracts Abstracts Index Medicus Revks

English 50.3qa 75.0% 73.0% 82.30 51.q; 54.8:/, Russian 23.4 10.0 1790 3.9 5.6 21-k German 6.4 3.0 4-o 8.6 17.2 8.7 French 7.3 3.0 4.0 2.4 8.6 7.8

Japanese 3.6 1.0 0.5 0.1 0.9 0.7 Chinese 0.5 1.0 0.1 0.0 0.4 0.2 Other 8.5 7.0 1.4 2.7 16.1 6.4

1 American Chemical Society (1967). CAS Today, Facts and Figures about Chemical Abstract.\ Service, p. 5. Columbus, Ohio.

2 D. N. Wood (1967). The foreign-language problem facing scientists and technologists in the United Kingdom. J. Down. 23, 119.

COMMUNICATION SATELLITES 23

The expected rate of increase of new scientific documentation is indicated by the following figure for present and forthcoming completed volumes of Chemical Abstracts.

TABLE II

Estimate of Abstracts--1967-1970

Volume Number of abstracts

Pabers Patents

1967 66,67 199,000 41,000 240,000 1968 68, 69 216,000 45,000 261,000 1969 70,71 235,000 49,000 284,000 1970 72, 73 258,000 52,000 3 10,000

In addition to the methods of indexing and abstracting published information that are now used, considerable efforts are being made in many countries to improve the availability of scientific data accumu- lated by the countries themselves. A State System of Standard Reference Data (GSSSD) has been established by the U.S.S.R. under the State Committee on Standards, Moscow. Approximately one-third of the central office staff of the GSSSD is concerned with planning and organization, working on such problems as the relationships between the various ministries and institutes which participate in the program. Another third of the staff is concerned with problems of data evaluation, with development of methods of making calculations, evaluating measurement methodology and deciding which properties of which substances are to be measured. The remaining third of the staff is concerned with machine methods of processing data, including the study of the problems of classification, file organization and techniques for storing and retrieving information.

In the United States, the National Bureau of Standards, Washington, has inaugurated a National Standard Reference Data System for the U.S.A. and Canada. This system-functions on a decentralized basis with the bulk of the work at the national center in Washington being concerned with program management and information dissemination. The evaluation of data from the literature is carried on in specialized date centers, among which are included the following:1

The Binary Metal and Metalloid Constitution Alloys Data Center, IIT Research Institute, Chicago, Ill.

I The complete list of information and data centers associated with the National Bureau of Standards may be found in U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards, (1967). Tech. X~J Bull. 51 (8).

24 H. C. CAMPBELL

Thermodynamic Properties Data Center, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.

Lattice Spacings and Structure Data Center, National Research Council, Ottawa, Canada.

Superconducting Transition Temperatures Data Center, General Electric Corporation, Schenectady, N.Y.

Rare-Earth Information Center, Ames Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Thermophysical Properties Research Center (TIRC), Purdue Uni- versity, West Lafayette, Ind.

Cryogenic Data Center, National Bureau of Standards, Boulder, Colo.

In view of the growing complexity in the number and scope of such information and data services, it is necessary to consider possible changes both in the form in which scientific information is transmitted, and the manner in which it is stored and used. Interest in the new techniques for the retrieval of information has also increased in recent years because the methods now used in information centers and library services have been unable to cope with the problems that have occurred in the production, recording, storage and dissemination of printed and other information. The reasons for this breakdown in information center and library service methods are many and include the following: (a) The increasingly wider range of forms in which scientific and technical information is being produced. These may all be required by any given user but their scale and complexity are beyond the ordinary library or information service. (b) The emphasis being placed on speedy transmission of research results, and the need for scientists and industry to have rapid access to new information. The geographical distances which have to be overcome are an added problem. (c) The growth of new sciences and the inter-disciplinary requirements for information, involving sources many of which are unknown to the searchers in the various disciplines.

An important development in information handling has been the creation of machinable data to replace conventional printed text and microforms. Some of the characteristics of such data are shown in Table III.

In view of the rapidly increasing possibility of international transmission and exchange of machinable records and data, many organizations are at present studying ways in which such information may be standardized. Among these are the International Federation for Docu- mentation, the International Organization for Standardization, Come- qon, the OECD, the U.N. and its specialized agencies and many


others. Work is proceeding on at present under the joint sponsorship of UNESCO and the International Council of Scientific Unions in order to develop a pilot project for a World Science Information System. Such work has been attempted in the past, but has never been brought to successful conclusion, although some useful results have been achieved.

TABLE III

Characteristics of machinable data

Form Can be stored on magnetic or paper tape and is suitable for high speed electronic transmission

Equibment needed Expensive equipment in large scale installations now used but ex- pectation is for miniturization in future

Browsing With appropriate equipment can be used for browsing

Reproduction Cheap to duplicate

Analysis Computerized analysis and search possible Dissemination Tele-processing possible

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

It is not necessary to provide a lengthy review of all of the different aspects of the new information technology, developed since 1950, with the advent of the computer and its use in information handling. The equipment components necessary for use in such systems fall into six categories: (a) input devices; (b) digital computers and their related equipment, (c) computer programs; (d) telecommunication equipment; (e) storage equipment for electronic recording of text and graphic information; (f) reproduction services and devices.

The discussion of possible use of communication satellites, in relation to the new information technology, centers on their role as the communication link between the computer store and the user. It is now possible for up to a million words per minute (TelpakD) to be transmitted in simultaneous two-way direction over a 960 KC bandwidth. A television channel can more than quadruple this amount. Communi- cation satellite transmission can provide many hundreds of television channels. Only occasional use has been made of the communication satellite for the regular transmission of data requested by users. How- ever, work is proceeding to develop devices required to convert information to machine-readable form, to develop the digital computer programs and the storage and reproduction equipment needed to handle high-speed transmission of scientific and technical data.

26 Ii. c . CAMPBELL

Among information services in the United States which are using computer based storage are the following:1

American Chemical Society (Chemical Abstract Service) American Society of Metals (Metallurgical Information) American Psychological Association (abstracts) American Petroleum Institute (abstracts) Johns Hopkins University Human Communications Information

Center National Library of Medicine (M E D L A R s ) National Space and Aeronautic Administration (Project STAR) Library of Congress (current catalog materials; Project MARC) National Bureau of Standards (standard reference data centers) National Institute of Mental Health (national clearing-house for

Mental Health Information) University of Oregon Primate Center (animal behavior and nutri-

tion records) University of Pittsburgh Health Law Center (legal texts) Rand Corporation (translations of Russian documents) Science Information Exchange, Smithsonian Institution U.S. Department of Commerce (Clearing-house for Federal Scientific

and Technical Information) Office of Education (ERIC Educational Research Information

Centers)

Typical of the above systems is one developed by the National Library of Medicine at Bethesda, Maryland, for processing medical information known as MEDLARS. MEDLARS is the acronym for the medical literature analysis and retrieval system. It prepares machine- readable indexes and augmented bibliographic citations (i.e. regular citations and telegraphic abstracts using keywords), which are stored on magnetic tape. The tapes are used to produce the monthly Index Medicus and to provide demand-search bibliographies to U.S. medical researchers, educators, and physicians.

The preparation of the basic publication, the monthly Index Medicus, is a monumental task. In 1961 the publication averaged 450 pages and contained references to more than 10,000 articles per average issue. The annual total of items indexed has increased from 120,000 in the first volume (1960) to an estimated 250,000 in 1969. A total of 14,000

1 Space does not permit even a brief resumC of the main characteristics of each of the systems noted. The MEDLARS system has been selected and is described on the following pages as an example. This system has been used for many years and is described in detail in U.S. Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare (1965). The Medlars story at the National Library of A4edicine. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Govt. Printing Office.


journal issues were indexed in 1961, and this figure is expected to reach 25,000 by 1969.

In addition to Index Medicus, the Library regularly publishes one bibliography, the Bibliography of Medical Reviews, and supplies bibliographies of differing complexities at request. The non-recurring “request” bibliographies will reach an estimated total of 22,500 in 1969.

With the installation of MED LARS, the Library added monographs to its list of source material indexed. English-language monographs were combined with foreign monographs, and total of both should reach 13,000 by 1969.

M E D L A R s has been operational since 1964. Its use by other agencies has been made possible through the establishment of centers at several American universities, and it is currently undergoing a revision and remodelling of its searching services. The National Library of Medicine has also co-operated with Sweden, Australia, and the United Kingdom in the establishment of experimental MEDLARS centers. The publication of Index Medicus was the primary aim of ME D LARS and the degree of its success is a great satisfaction to those responsible for its devclop- merit. Beginning in 1968, the tele-communication aspects of M ED L A RS

ha.ve become more interesting, particularly systems to transmit starch requests.

National and world-wide information networks are in use by a number of countries for national defense, for space programs and for industry. Since the networks have been found useful, it is appropriate to examine the contributions further networks can make to higher education, scholarship, and science. Information processing, broadly conceived, includes creation of new information (research), transmission of information (teaching), assimilation of information (learning), storage and retrieval of information in libraries and data banks, and communication of information to society.

Such networks make possible sharing of information resources, equalize access to information, facilitate long-distance interpersonal interactions, provide better bibliographical services, make information instantane- ously available, and reduce production of unused copies of a wide range of information materials. Also, they can contribute to decreasing copy- right infringement and provide information in a format appropriate for the user.

Government departments, research institutions and universities would appear to provide a natural basis for a national information network because of their need for and dedication to the collection of knowledge in all fields of human endeavor. The growth in the amount of information available, coupled with a growing number of students, is

28 H. C. CAMPBELL

making it increasingly difficult for universities to have available local resources adequate to support superior educational programs. An effec- tive information network can multiply the effectiveness and efficiency of each professor. Moreover, an information network can do much to satisfy the needs for communication and access to information about research conducted elsewhere.1

The Interuniversity Communications Council (EDUCOM), Pitts- burg, Pennsylvania, proposes to establish an EDUCOM pilot network in the United States. It will be used for university research and development purposes, but it will also provide a new asset in the education system of the nation. The proposal calls for a network with multiple media information-processing capabilities. Such a pilot network will enable United States universities to evaluate the role and nature of information communicating services in aid to education, particularly higher education. It was expected that the annual cost for such a pilot demonstration might amount to $2,759,000 in 1967-1968, $5,500,000 in 1969 and similar sums in subsequent years. A recent amendment to the U.S. Higher Education Act of 1965 has provided for federal funds to establish “networks for knowledge” based on universities in the United States.

TRENDS IN LIBRARY, AND DOCUMENTATION SERVICES

Those processes in a library which can be formalized and treated accord- ing to rules can be treated with machines. This approach is one which is new to present day librarianship and differs greatly from that tradi- tionally associated with library and information services. A further noticeable difference is that the centralization of libraries with vast collections at one given place will almost certainly be reversed within the next thirty years as developments in communications transform space and time through use of the video-phone and other means. The physical location of people will become less and less important in the work of the library. The essential breakthrough which must be achieved is the per- fection of speech-recognition equipment which will free man from the drudgery of the keyboard. When the sound barrier has been breached, many of the present services which depend entirely on personal inter- action will be provided through communications utilities.

Dr Vanever Bush has pointed out that the utility of powerful analytic machinery has been demonstrated in the fields of economics, government and engineering, but the public have still to be made aware of

1 G. Brown (ed.) (1967). Edunet, Report of the mmmer study on information networks, p. 370. New York: Wiley.


the uses of such equipment in information processing. Dr Bush stated that the capability of analytic equipment in information processing will automatically improve in relation to its use and he predicted that the use of such equipment will revolutionize every professional group’s mode of operation. The information processing technology will probably exert influences on our society just as powerful as some of the new discoveries in antibiotics and other fields.1

The immediate problem for national documentation and information services is to reorganize their methods and procedures so that they can take advantage of the new technological means of communication.

Under the leadership of the Information Science and Automation Division of the American Library Association, Chicago, a campaign is being waged to acquaint librarians throughout North America with the scope and function of this new technology. This division of the largest library association in the world has organized a clearing house for information about particular library automation projects in the United States and abroad and is developing exchange programs for methods and procedures used in automation in library systems, facilitating the inter-library distribution of bibliographic data in machine-readable form, the establishment of library communications networks, automated searching techniques, the compatibility of equipment and programming systems used by libraries, standardization of coding systems, the financ- ing of co-operative automation projects, use-measurement and user studies involving automated library systems and many other related activities.

The analysis, design and implementation of an automated central bibliographic system for one of the largest libraries in the world, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., is a project which has already occupied many man-years of study since February 1965. The work to date has served to identify the objectives of the future central bibliographic system and to identify specific operational requirements. In addition, a conceptual model for system development and a number of alternative schemes for meeting the requirements have been devised. Tests have been conducted for the past two years through Project M A R c (machine-readable catalogue) involving the co-operation of more than 15 libraries, in Canada, the U.S.A. and Europe.

The most important result has been the agreement that a standard machine-readable record can be prepared so that libraries can develop their own programs and procedures with the knowledge that formats will not change drastically in the future. Another important development has been the ability of the machine system to produce subject

1 V. Bush (1965). Library of Congress Infoormtion Bulletin 24, 446.

30 H. C. CAMPBELL

heading lists and print editions of subject headings by photo-compo- sition from magnetic tapes. This important up-dating activity is one of the central functions for any information service and one which has been watched with great interest by institutions in all parts of the world.

The field of facsimile transmission is also one that has been of concern to libraries and documentation centers. Facsimile equipment is available that can accept and transmit any type of information which exists on paper and will do so without any intermediate transcribing or processing. Facsimile systems will operate over any available communications medium including telephone lines, overseas cable, radio, micro- wave, or satellite. There is no technical limitation to the distance over which facsimile can be transmitted.

Facsimile, added to video-phone and telecommunication systems for data transmission, will alter very greatly the dependence of the user on the local resources available at any given point. These and other trends indicate the direction in which information services in many countries will develop.

SATELLITE TRANSMISSION AND THE ORGANIZATION OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC

INFORMATIONNETWORKS

The emphasis in this paper has been on presenting the basic matters which must be considered in the gathering and dissemination of scientific information, and on pointing out the work being done to increase the speed of communication between users. It is not necessary to review in detail the technical possibilities of communication satellites, since a good deal is known about their abilities to handle large volumes of data in transmission. The solutions which need to be worked out are those dealing with the organization of national and international information services on the ground. As has been indicated earlier, a great deal of work is going on in order to set up national and international documentation services in the fields of scientific information based on machine- readable records, However, it is important to recognize that for transmission by satellite of this information it will probably be necessary to draw a distinction between domestic transmission within a country, or in some cases within a group of countries, and complete international transmission available to all countries.

Because domestic satellite transmission will probably occur first in such countries with large land masses such as the U.S.S.R., Canada, the U.S.A. and certain countries in Asia and Latin America, it might be


useful to review the operating conditions under which domestic satellite communication of scientific information and data can take place.1

The term domestic satellite telecommunications refers to transmission of information within a particular country destined to other points within the same country. It can be expected that the principal uses for domestic satellite communication will be for the extension of present telephone, telegraph, facsimile and data communication to remote parts of a country which may not be served by land lines or land radio relay facilities or can be served more cheaply by satellite. Ground stations would be capable of receiving radio and television programs from satellites for re-transmission through local broadcasting or cable distribution systems.

These receiving and re-broadcasting facilities would be economically practicable in order to serve communities as small as 300 people. Tele- communication circuits for long distance telecommunications traffic could be provided more economically by satellite than over-land radio- relay systems for distances in excess of 1500 miles. Such services would principally benefit countries with large areas or regional groupings concerned with the transmission within a relatively large area. The Ford Foundation in the U.S.A. estimates that by 1970 a satellite system, involving an annual cost of about $29 million could take the place of ground facilities for which commercial television networks would other- wise pay $60 to $65 million a year, thereby affording a net annual saving of $31 to $36 million.2 The type of satellite circuits considered for such domestic telecommunications use would employ geo-stationery satellites in an equatorial orbit.

As far as military communications are concerned, it would appear necessary for the use of a satellite network exclusively for military, non- tactical communication needs. The stringent military requirements with respect to security, reaction time, access, survival, demand a communications satellite system with different parameters from those of the cost- affective systems required for commercial need. The type of equipment and techniques necessary for military use are being developed and the feasibility of suitable small ground terminals investigated.

It is now clear that it is possible to incorporate random multiple access into the next generation of satellites through the addition of a computer to the space vehicle. The functions of the computer would include sorting messages, loading lines, storing messages, switching, and,

1 Canada, Privy Council (1967). U@er Atmosphere and @ace Programs in Canada, Special Study No. 2, p. 17. Ottawa: Queen’s Printer.

s L. L. Johnson (1967). The Impact of Communications Satellites on the Television Industry, p. 3. Santa Monica, Calif.: Rand Corporation.

32 H. C. CAMPBELL

in general, improving the operation of the system. By providing lines to the user on demand, subject to priorities, the computer makes it possible to bill the user only for actual time he holds the link.1

The United Nations and its specialized agencies is most concerned to the develop satellite communication on an international basis, particularly in the fields of education and science. UNESCO convened a meeting of experts on the use of space communication by the mass media in Paris in December 1965, and the resulting report and suggestions for international co-operation and for UNESCO’s program in space communication contains valuable suggestions covering not only the transmission of news and radio and television broadcasting, but the related fields of educational and cultural exchanges.2 UNESCO has therefore embarked on a program dealing with space communication which involves the preparation of a number of pilot projects in the use of telecommunications and satellite broadcasting on an international basis. The UNESCO General Conference in November 1968 adopted a plan for assistance to India, as well as other countries, in carrying out projects using satellite communication for educational purposes.

The United Nations, along with the International Telecommunica- tion Union, The European Broadcasting Union and other international governmental and non-governmental organizations has begun to arrange such matters as the allocations of frequencies, the establishment of technical standards, and the utilization of space communication for cultural and educational programs as well as for popular programs. Starting around 1970, direct distance telephone dialling will be intro- duced on an intercontinental basis leading eventually to the creation of a global direct distance dialling system. The provision of a greatly increased number of international circuits is part of the world plan of the International Telecommunication Union. Communication satellites to provide international circuits are planned on the assumption that for international telecommunications traffic for a relatively large geographical area, the traffic would be routed to facilities at a satellite ground station which would transmit this traffic to another large station on another continent whence it would be distributed by land line. With the development of multiple access systems, many ground stations will be in communication with each other by the same communication satellites. Thus, it can be expected that the transmission of data and facsimile on an international basis, as well as on a domestic basis, will be

1 I. Dlugatch (1967). Economic Problems of Cornrat Systems and a Technical Solution. Santa Monica, Calif. : System Development Corporation.

2 UNESCO (1965). Meeting of Experts on the Use of Space Communication by the Mass Media, Paris, (Dec. 6-10) Report of the meeting, UNESCO/MC 5’2; March 1966.

COMMUNICATION SATELI.ITES 33

realizable in the 1970s. It is important that emphasis on this form of international transmission be brought forward in 1969 at the time of the revisions in the existing intergovernmental agreements concerning the future of the Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT).

The planning for such international communication of scientific information will require the extensive revision of present national systems of information handling, as well as the restructuring of the means of support of world abstracting and indexing services. A fundamental requirement for future development is the formation of a sufficient number of machine-based information services to serve the needs of scientific and technological advancement in every country. The scope and activity of such services should include the following possibilities :

access to all national major machine-readable scientific and technological indexing and abstracting services;

facilities for conducting rapid literature searches by machine methods, with progression from titles to abstracts to complete articles;

retrospective searching capabilities, to provide bibliographies col- lated by subject, author and institutional affiliation; these searches will be required to cover scientific, engineering and patent literature ;

selective dissemination of information to individuals from a central unit: this should transmit new information in specialized subjects on demand ;

access to the various specialized government, institutional, and commercial data centres;

availability of basic data (such as physical, chemical, and thermodynamic properties) on compounds and materials from national and international data collections;

identifications and characterization of compounds by comparison with central repositories of data-such as infrared, ultraviolet and X-ray spectra;

information ori patent literatllre, particularly access to the various patent concordances;

facilities to co-ordinate the translation of technical literature, and to search and retrieve existing translations ;

access to selected commercial information-such as ma.rket research data, names and location of suppliers and costs of chemicals and other materials.

In order for most countries to derive maximum benefit from the wealth of information available from outside their boundaries, it will be necessary to put a very considerable amount of effort into inforination

C

34 FI. c. (::\hlPRF.L.I

retrieval by electronic means. This implies not only the provision of’ equipment but also of the large staffs needed if a systematic use of information of value to national, industrial and technical development is to result. Similarly, such national services must he prepared to contribute information which will be used in other countries. The methods which will be adopted should be capable of accepting all domestic and international sources of technical information, and should be designed so as to be compatible with these.

It would therefore seem that international effort to develop basic agreements on the scope and function of national, scientific and technical information services are urgently required and technical help is needed by most countries to design such systems so that they will be capable of receiving information transmitted from other countries by communication satellite.

Since 1966 there has been considerable interest in the work of the ICSU Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) which has been founded under the auspices of the International Council of Scientific Unions. This committee was formed in order to promote international co-operation and serve as a channel of communication between major countries. Membership of CODATA includes national representatives from the United States, United Kingdom, U.S.S.R., France, Germany, *Japan and representatives of the international scientific unions which wish to participate. CODATA’s second annual meeting was held at the Soviet Academy of Sciences in Moscow in June 1967; its first international CODATA conference was held at Arnoldshain, Taunus in July, 1968, jointly with the German Chemical Society.

The international governmental and non-governmental organizations which have been set up to co-ordinate world development of librarianship and bibliography have not shown that they can deal effectively with the new development of satellite communication and its effect on libraries. Little advance planning is taking place and most of the decisions in information handling made today result from the work of scientists and engineers. It is probable that a new governmental international agency will need to be set up to co-ordinate the space communication systems of the future. Libraries and documentation services should now strive to ensure that a place for the systems which will be available shortly is reserved for the orderly and rapid transmission of the great quantity of data and information that the libraries are called upon to preserve.

possibilities of international diffusion and documentation of scientific innovations by...

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