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Procedures are described for the systematic assessment of tenders including verification of functional scope, response characteristics in interactive systems and robustness to equipment failure.

System designers concerned with bibliographic storage and retrieval systems have, in the past, followed one of three approaches — simple data structures, with the handling of the inherent complexity of bibliographic data embedded in the programs; free text (inverse file) systems of which the ‘online database’ systems may be seen as a specialised extension; and structured database (DBMS) methods, of which some MARC systems are a special subset. The form of storage of the bibliographic data affects not only the efficiency of retrieval by various fields of the record, but also the space used in storage, the cost of maintenance and addition of new material, and especially, the nature of the retrieval language and the flexibility of response to users' needs. The choice of design approach involves study of each proposed application, and guidelines are offered for consideration in matching functional requirements with the varying strengths and weaknesses of the software techniques. Hybrid database structures offering both free text and DBMS features are becoming acceptable, at least for small systems, and the likely paths for future development are noted.

By the end of 1981 there are expected to be as many as 2000 centres in Great Britain making use of free text storage and retrieval systems. Prospective users are analysed by type of institution, and by class of computer in use or envisaged. Package systems are likely to satisfy a major part of this growth in use. Applications are expected in bibliographic services, technical information management and commercial correspondence and data retrieval. Special systems for legal data, safety standards and records, and regulations in general may also be important.

The choice of strategy and the evolution of policy for electronic publishing as an aid to information dissemination are at present complicated by the variety of technical options and by uncertainty about the proper balance between relatively high risk innovative and more predictable conservative approaches. This paper is intended to provide a set of ‘route maps’ through the technical options available now and in the near future, and to indicate the criteria which would guide choice of technology for various application categories and investment priorities. A lucid and accessible guide to the publication and availability of scientific and technical papers will be found in Line, 1992; this paper has been followed in several places below, but Line's discussion of the impact of new technology on publishers is not repeated.

A bilingual Welsh‐English full text database is planned for Inspection Reports of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools for Wales. Special requirements for free text retrieval in the Welsh language are identified, and practical solutions are proposed for problems arising from the use of standard text database products, some of which may also apply to other lesser‐used languages.

A requirement has been recognised for some time for database software which provides both formatted data and free text management facilities. Applications in storage and retrieval of accounting data of market research presentations, and of catalogues of books, maps, drawings, and engineering components are identified. A joint development project between British Telecom New Information Services and Oracle Corporation UK Ltd will add text features to the established ORACLE relational database, and the scope of this system and the design approaches chosen are described.

The basic technical components of ‘information networking’ have been in place since the mid‐1970s, when the first generation online bibliographic services such as the INSPEC databases and MEDLINE, implemented on dial‐up hosts like Dialog and ESA changed the ways in which librarians approached bibliographic searching — at least in the better funded organizations. The peak of diversification and growth of the online bibliographic database probably came around 1988 when Williams reviewed the near‐exponential growth of new services and the extraordinary diversity of the sources which appeared to be viable. At about the same time, however, it was being pointed out that despite the excitement this was generating in libraries, it amounted to less than 15% of the European market in electronic information services, with data‐oriented financial services dominating the remainder. The share of the host‐based financial data services has probably subsequently grown — at the time of writing in August 1993, Reuters (a market leader in financial data services) was reported as having difficulty in disposing of its trading profits.

The following bibliography focuses mainly on programs which can run on IBM microcomputers and compatibles under the operating system PC DOS/MS DOS, and which can be used in online information and documentation work. They fall into the following categories:

The London and South‐Eastern Library Region (LASER) facilitates interlibrary lending in London and South East England. It has access to some 40 million volumes and through its union catalogues is responsible for 215,000 Interlending requests per annum. This paper describes the background to the automation of LASER'S referral activity. It also gives details of the mini‐computer system which was eventually installed and in which over 1,000,000 titles are now recorded. Careful monitoring over the last two years has demonstrated a number of advantages over the manual system which preceded it. Bibliographical checking has been reduced by 25% and cost containment has exceeded expectations. The next stage in LASER'S development will be the provision of on‐line access to a number of the Bureau's main users.

As CD‐ROM becomes more and more a standard reference and technical support tool in all types of libraries, the annual review of this technology published in Computers in Libraries magazine increases in size and scope. This year, author Susan L. Adkins has prepared this exceptionally useful bibliography which she has cross‐referenced with a subject index.