NAME OF SYSTEM: Aerospace Information Dissemination ORIGINATOR: Office of Technology Utilization Scientific & Technological Information Division National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington, D.C. 20546

and Technical Information Facility at College Park, Md. Each document accepted as a potentially valuable addition is first given an accession number for control purposes. Those documents with a potential of broad interest are selected for conversion to microfiche format. Indexers then examine each selected document for pertinent bibliographic data and select the terms under which the document will be listed in the index. Abstractors review each newly-received document and develop appropriate abstracts, or may rewrite the abstract that accompanied the document if it does not conform with NASA standards. The microfiche is roughly 4 x 6 inches and conforms with the COSATI (Committee on Scientific and Technical Information) microfiche standards. The distribution copy consists of a diazo sheet of negative film carrying images of as many as 60 pages. The bibliographic citation of the document appears in normal size print across the top. The most widely used reference guides to the NASA scientific and technical information system's growing file of knowledge are two complementary bibliographical and abstract bulletins, Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports ( S T A R ) and International Aerospace Abstracts (I A A). STAR abstracts cover worldwide report literature on space and aeronautics, while those in the IAA provide similar coverage of scientific and trade journals, books, and papers presented at meetings. Expert processing and modern methods of printing keep the coverage of both journals remarkably current. Indexes are organized to show subjects pertinent to a variety of disciplines. Users of the STAR and IAA document reference services may identify a desired document by citing its accession number. In addition to the accession number, the bulletin also includes such bibliographic information as the corporate source, the title of the report, and an abstract of the report. Requesters may order a microfiche copy of the document or an enlarged paper copy. In most instances, the microfiche copies cost substantially less than the paper reproductions.
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O B J E C T I V E . To assure that scientists and engineers working on NASA's advanced aeronautical and space projects, as well as other interested institutions and individuals, are kept informed of significant developments in their areas of interest and to provide a rapid economical means for obtaining needed information. BACKGROUND. The NASA Office of Technology Utilization is responsible for the collection, processing, and communicating of scientific and technical information resulting from space program experience. Much emphasis has been directed toward placing this vast collection of knowledge in the hands of those who would explore its nonaerospace applications. Thus the information program managers have broadened the base of interest to a marked degree. The current Master Authority Address List reveals that an audience of over 2,700 public and private institutions are interested in NASA's collection of documents and publications. T H E N E W M E T H O D . The NASA information collection comprises more than onehalf million documents and publications. This collection encompasses acquisitions from Government, industry, research institutes, and the academic community. In addition, NASA regularly receives technical literature and specialized reports covering various projects, laboratory findings, and new patent information. Hundreds of additions to the document file are received daily at the NASA Scientific

R E M A R K S . Without the benefits of microfilm as a storage and dissemination medium, it would almost be impossible to effectively serve the scientific and technical community. In addition to the problems of making, assembling, and warehousing paper copies, the packaging and shipping would represent a formidable effort. Fortunately, the steady im-

provement in microfilm technology has made it possible for information handling activities to keep abreast of the increased creation of paper documents. In 1969 NASA distributed almost 10 million microfiche under its information dissemination program. This in itself was a gain of almost one million microfiche over the previous year's total.

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AEROSPACE INFORMATION DISSEMINATION
I N P U T PROCESSING STORAGE SEARCH AND R E T R I E V A L

New Documents

Indexing Microfiche Master File

S. T . A . R . I.A.A. References

New Documents

Abstracting

Search Request

Camera

Printing Film Duplicator , Microfiche Duplicate

Film Processor

S. T . A . R . I.A.A. References Film Printer Hard Copy

Microfiche

1. S e l e c t e d d o c u m e n t s t o be a c c e s s i o n e d a r e p a s s e d to i n d e x e r s and a b s t r a c t e r s for p r o c e s s i n g 2. B i b l i o g r a p h i c d a t a is e d i t e d , p r i n t e d , and d i s s e m i n a t e d to i n terested users. 3. D o c u m e n t s a r e c o n v e r t e d t o m i c r o f i c h e t h r o u g h u s e of s t e p and r e p e a t , p l a n e t a r y c a m e r a , and f i l m p r o c e s s o r . 4. M i c r o f i c h e m a s t e r n e g a t i v e is a d d e d to m a s t e r file.

1. NASA s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n facility m a i n t a i n s m a s t e r file totaling o v e r 500, 000 document images. 2. R e q u e s t s for full t e x t c o p i e s of d o c u m e n t s a r e p r o c e s s e d for t r a n s m i s s i o n in e i t h e r m i c r o fiche o r h a r d copy f o r m a t .

1. S u b s c r i b e r r e q u e s t s full t e x t copy c r d o c u m e n t d e s c r i b e d in reference journal. 2. U s e r h a s option of r e c e i v i n g d o c u m e n t t e x t in e i t h e r m i c r o fiche of h a r d copy f o r m a t .

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