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CD‐ROM (Compact Disk Read‐Only Memory) drive units allow data stored on optical discs to be read into a computer. The discs are essentially the same as the compact discs used in home high fidelity audio systems. Like audio compact discs, or computer floppy disks, a CD‐ROM disc can be inserted into the drive unit for data reading, then removed and replaced by other CD‐ROM discs.

The first videodisc was demonstrated in 1927. A brief history of the videodisc is presented, describing the three major current manifestations of this storage medium—read‐only, write‐once, and erasable. Read‐only became an important information delivery format in 1985. During 1986, write‐once will begin to have impact on libraries and information centers. The current status of this technology, the major corporations involved in the field, and the potential uses for various types of storage media are described. A sidebar discusses Geac's use of optical media.

A brief introduction is given to the ADONIS system. An account is given of the way in which British Library Document Supply Centre (BLDSC) has utilised CD‐ROM jukebox technology to optimise its use of the ADONIS system. A brief description of BLDSC's future plans for using jukebox technology is given.

VINE is produced at least four times a year with the object of providing up‐to‐date news of work being done in the automation of library‐housekeeping processes, principally in the UK. It is edited and substantially written by the Information Office for Library Automation based in Southampton University Library and supported by a gr t from the British Library Research and Development Department. Copyright for VINE articles rests with the British Library Board, but opinions expressed in VINE do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the British Library. The subscription for 1981 and 1982 for VINE is £20 for UK subscribers and £23 for overseas subscribers — subscription year runs from January to December.

IN a recent Money programme on BBC TV Sir Monty Finniston was seen advocating the need for greater investment in industry as opposed to money being sent abroad to be invested either in Japanese industry or American real estate.

Digitisation is used for preservation of audiovisual material. This preservation work is a major producer of digital collections – which then need digital preservation for sustainability. EC Project Presto surveyed the holdings and status of ten major broadcast archives – a significant portion of total European broadcast archives, including some of the largest individual collections. The main findings are that approximately 75 per cent of this material is at risk or inaccessible and that the collections are growing at roughly four times the rate of current progress in preservation work. This paper gives further results of the project, and gives practical guidance for preservation of audiovisual material. Presto demonstrated the effectiveness of the “preservation factory” concept for major broadcast archives – a way to reduce cost while still maintaining or even increasing quality. There is now a new EC project, Presto‐space, which will make the preservation factory available to small and medium‐sized collections.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between management accounting software and the management accountant, as (re)produced in adverts appearing in professional management accounting journals. The paper analyses how such adverts have shaped the management accountant and the social practice of management accounting; in particular, whether these adverts are producing an image of management accountants who are in control of their management accounting system or who are controlled by it. The paper also discusses whether these adverts reflect changes in broader social practices.

The paper analyses two software adverts that were published in Chartered Institute of Management Accountants' professional journal. It uses discourse analysis to understand both the image of management accountants and the nature of the management accounting software portrayed in these adverts, as well as to explore the relationship between management accountants and their control systems.

It is concluded that the software adverts project an image of management accountants who are effectively handing over control to their systems, and who are encouraged to place substantial trust in the software. The paper relates these changes to trends in contemporary social practices, and reflects in the light of recent events in the financial markets and global economy more generally.

This paper contributes by adding more insight to the diffusion of the images of the accountant as a more action oriented and hedonistic person (while the software system “does the work”), as well as considering the broader implications of such diffusion in the context of the recent financial crisis.

In the context of information storage and sharing new electronic technology has much to offer conventional library systems. A video disc can be a valuable storage component. However, its full potential is unlikely to be realised if it is used in isolation from other equipment. Computers, communication networks and video discs can together provide many novel information storage and dissemination systems for use in libraries. This paper describes some of these and also gives a brief outline of some approaches to providing the all important user interface to such systems.

This paper describes the automation of the retrieval of online orders for the CAS Document Delivery Service. By shifting from a process using stand‐alone terminal to a process linked to a Unix network, we were able to improve the productivity of the staff responsible for operating the service and the speed with which electronic orders were dispatched. A similar shift could be used by other companies to capture online information from external sources.

As CDROMs become a mass medium for entertainment and reference, the prices of CDROM discs have been dropping while the speed of CDROM drives has been increasing. For example, Essex Entertainment is now marketing 50 CDROM titles through music, book and budget retail stores at $9.95 per disc. Two years ago, the street price of single‐speed single‐disc CDROM drives was in the range of $200–400. Today, a similar drive that runs four times as fast (quad‐speed) can be purchased for about the same price. Meanwhile, sextuple‐speed drives are already available and there is no indication that the limits of CDROM drive speed have as yet been reached. This article discusses both quad‐speed and sextuple‐speed CDROM disc drives, and it also takes note of the many types of multiple disc drives that are being offered — some able to deploy hundreds of CDROM discs for almost instant use by equally large numbers of users.