Information retrieval as a design aid

AS part of the Ministry of Technology's investigations into how to make the fullest use of the computer as a design tool a working party was set up to survey information retrieval projects in the U.K. It was decided to extend the survey to include technical information retrieval work in the U.S.A. since it was thought that the additional information would be of value in providing knowledge of further techniques that could be used to solve the design information problem. Last year two members of the working party visited forty‐four selected centres of technical information retrieval work in the States to assess the present state of the art in information handling with particular reference to engineering design. Their report, Information Retrieval in the U.S.A., has now been published by the Ministry of Technology and it describes the information systems and the techniques used by each of the organisations visited, with particular reference to the way in which designers, engineers and scientists obtain information to support their tasks.