loans. Is is even possible to arrange for output formats to fulfil 
such managerial tasks as producing slips for overdue items, stores 
management etc. 
The second alternative uses a variant of the electronic mail system 
whereby the input preparation is prepared locally e.g. on a 
microcomputer. edited locally and transmitted to the Private File 
mass storage in bulk. From there on the process of validation and 
inversion can be performed as in thé previous case. 
Under such an embodiment it is not necessary to create electronic 
equivalents of the input forms. Rather one simply indicates the 
existence of the various fields while keying in the data. by way of 
prefixes - generally mnemonics such as TI= for the Title, AU= for 
authors etc. 
This system is in fact particularly well suited to the case where 
the creation of the database is distributed within a closed user 
group geographically dispersed. A same record - to appear in the end 
as a simple reference - may in effect have been created by 
successive additions from various specialists each recalling a given 
item from the Private File mass storage and re-storing it after 
processing. 
Figures 2 and 5 give examples of records created using both methods. 
Clearly the Private Files can be restricted in usage to a group of 
authorised passwords or made available to the public at large. 
Whatever the method of input, ESA-IRS specialists are constantly 
available to guide customers in all steps of the database creation 
and to monitor its evolution or simply for maintenance. 
VII Current Research and Development. 
The development of VIDEOTEX access to databases could not remain 
outside the sphere of interest of ESA-IRS. Currently, customers 
equipped with alphanumeric keyboards for VIDEOTEX sets complying 
with the PRESTEL standard can access the ESA-IRS databases through 
normal data transmission networks. This is only the prelude to the 
time when, without leaving their national VIDEOTEX service they will 
be able to communicate directly through so called gateways with 
ESA-IRS. 
Also, this new access means whereby the end user will be able tc 
interrogate sophisticated databases, clearly requires that new 
training methods be made available - the basis being Computer Aided 
Instructions - and still more powerful yet simpler commands which 
would take into account, on their behalf, the idiosyncrasies of the 
databases or suggest possible search strategies. Some results in 
these areas are expected shortly. 
Proca 7