Storage and retrieval of technical documentation

Classical approaches (e.g., Dewey Decimal) for storing and retrieving today's staggering mass of technical documentation have proven ineffectual. This paper reviews problems of technical-information retrieval and the new techniques being developed for coping with them. Brief descriptions are given of available equipment applicable to such methods. However, these new techniques and equipment bring to the force and re-emphasize many technical and managerial problems to be faced in realistically implementing a modern technical-information “system.” Not the least of these are the needs for intelligent preparation of the input to such a system and efficient means for disseminating the output to the information user.