THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM FOR COMBUSTION RESEARCH

The development of, and initial operating experience with, a multiple‐access information retrieval system is described. Based upon the use of eighty‐column punched cards and the ICT 302 Sorter, it was devised specially for, and with the active co‐operation of, research scientists concerned with the fundamental aspects of combustion. The content and arrangement of the classification scheme used is outlined. A preliminary analysis is made of the searching techniques applied to, and the retrieval response for, the inquiries received from research scientists during the first two years of operation of the retrieval system.