Manual of Documentation Practices Applicable to Defence-Aerospace Scientific and Technical Information. Volume I: Sections 1--Acquisition and Sources; 2--Descriptive Cataloguing; 3--Abstracting and Subject Analysis.

The first volume in a series of publications describing the basic documentation practices involved in the initial setting up and subsequent operation of an information-library organization to provide defense-aerospace scientific and technical information services, this manual consists of three sections. "Acquisition and Sources," by Philip Eckert, offers suggestions and ideas for acquiring documents or their surrogates and dealing with problems in selection and duplicate checking. A semiautomated duplicate search technique and alerting methods for prospective documentation are described. Appendices include two category systems, selected definitions and acronyms, and a selected address list for document procurement. "Descriptive Cataloging," by Barbara Gladd and others, defines the functions and purposes of descriptive cataloging in processing technical reports and compares the merits of manual vs. automated systems. Descriptive data elements and guidelines for their use in implementing a system already automated or to be automated in the future are presented, and personnel and staffing considerations are discussed. "Abstracting and Subject Analysis," by Toni Carbo Bearman, summarizes and provides an overview of the practical aspects of abstracting, indexing, thesaurus development, and the use of computers in abstracting and indexing. References to relevant standards are included. (Author/RAA)