An in‐house system for cataloguing, retrieval and loans in the Irish Meteorological Service Library

A description is given of the system produced by the Irish Meteorological Service Library for computerised cataloguing and retrieval, linked to an automated loans/returns system. The programs have been written entirely in FORTRAN 77 for the DEC 20–50 mainframe computer. Users can access the system through their own terminals, and may create retention files of records retrieved. In this system rapid retrieval is effected through a simple command language. Any number of keywords (which may be general keywords, authors' names or UDC subject classification numbers) can be combined in a single command by using the logical boolean operators AND, OR, NOT. Display is by a menu offering various formats on screen or on file. Online help is provided. The techniques used are discussed and indications are given of file structure, storage requirements and running speeds.