COMPUTER‐BASED INFORMATION SERVICES FOR EDUCATION AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IN NEW ZEALAND: A REVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

The development of information services for education and the social sciences in New Zealand goes on in a policy vacuum. A national mainframe‐based information service has failed, partly because of the fact that mainframe and PC (personal computer) computer technology arrived in New Zealand almost simultaneously. The most obvious feature of the education/social science information system in New Zealand in the late 1980s is its lack of system; the most obvious trend a steady progression towards PC‐based services.