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Research leading toward eventual direct machine reading of Chinese text has been done the National Bureau of Standards (NBS). nd several related research projects conerned with computer handling of chemical otation are receiving support from the Tational Science Foundation (NSF) and the Tational Institutes of Health (NIH).

The NBS project, funded by the Army Signal Corps and the Air Force, was conducted by the Center for Computer Sciences and Technology f the NBS Institute for Applied Technology.

At NBS, B. Kirk Rankin III, Stephanie iegel, Ann Swanson, and James L. Tan have ome up with a scheme describing how Chinese haracters are formed. The scheme is in effect "grammar" for placing in all allowable cominations the components given in an accomanying "lexicon."

Just as a sentence can be broken down into diagram showing the relationships of words nd phrases, a complex Chinese character can e analyzed according to the arrangement of ts components. The three-level generative rammar developed at NBS formalizes the re

strictions governing the general complexity of the Chinese characters and sets up rules telling which components can occur together and what particular spatial arrangements are possible. The characters are broken down into components, which are described as located in a particular position in a frame or sub-frame: NORTH, SOUTH, WEST, EAST, BORDER,

The Chinese characters (extreme left) translate to "U.S. Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards, Technical News Bulletin." The two enlarged characters, which mean "standards," illustrate the analytical methods developed at NBS to describe the formation processes of Chinese characters. Below: NBS linguist Kirk Rankin and mathematician Ann Swanson create different Chinese characters by changing some components. The borders on the large card show how the basic frame is divided for placing components; further divisions of either small rectangle yield even more complex characters. Here they have formed the word "dew."

INTERIOR, and FREE. The "lexicon," or dictionary of components, gives for each entry the positions it can occupy in forming characters and its "strength," or the extent to which it occurs with other components and complex subcharacters.

Under NIH sponsorship, the NBS group uses a similar approach in the analysis of chemical structure diagrams, which present similar problems for computer handling.

As part of its support of the Computer and Information Science Research Center at Ohio State University, NSF is funding James E. Rush's research on chemical sub-structure searching. James Munz of the University of Pennsylvania is working under an NSF grant to develop a "grammar" for chemical symbols as part of a formalization of notation systems. And NSF is financing Frank Harary's study of graph matrices and chemical nomenclature at the University of Michigan.

NSF Funds Stanford Development of
On-Line Physics Information
Retrieval System

A fully implemented on-line physics information retrieval system will result from work by Stanford University under a grant from the National Science Foundation. The $274,600 grant will enable Stanford to initiate the second or development phase of a five-year program begun in December 1966, which will include an evaluation of the system from the standpoint of both system and user behavior. Edwin B. Parker of Stanford's Institute for Communication Research is principal investigator for the project.

Successful completion of a prototype demonstration system during the program's first or research phase now permits development of the operational system, which is intended to satisfy the information requirements of physicists at Stanford, including the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

Phase two is expected to accomplish two major goals. The first is the implementation of a fully interactive, multiple-terminal, reference retrieval system. The other is a detailed

study of the information-seeking behavior of physicists in such an environment.

The first goal will require development of a set of systems programs for handling multiple terminals simultaneously with satisfactory response times and a set of programs for the reference-retrieval application to run in that multiple-terminal environment. An important feature, required by the second goal, will be the programing of the monitoring, commenting, and questionnaire functions of the system and the associated statistics collection and analysis routines with the purpose of providing feedback for any necessary design modifications.

At the completion of the phase one work effort in May 1968, the data base contained Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) preprint document references and footnote citations as well as Nuclear Science Abstracts. During phase two the data base will be expanded to include the DESY Index produced (in machine-readable form) at the DESY highenergy physics laboratories at Hamburg, Germany. The data base will also be expanded to include good coverage of the physics journal literature, accessible via citation indexing, as well as some 1,600 other scientific journals.

At the completion of phase two, the reference-retrieval system should look more like a general campus information utility than merely a specific system for physicists. Phase three will deal with the long-term operational viability of the system. The University's plan is to have the operational system taken over and administered by the Stanford Library (using the computer facilities of the Stanford Computation Center) as a logical user-service extension of the on-line automation of internal library processes, including acquisitions, cataloging, and circulation control, which is currently being implemented.

Engineers To Plan Information and
Data System under NSF Grant

Engineers will look to industry for support of a United Engineering Information System being studied under a National Science Foundation grant. NSF has earmarked $168,500 to help them make the necessary plans.

Under the auspices of United Engineering Trustees as fiscal agent, the Tripartite Committee will prepare long-term plans for development of the system and an objective assessment of its viability. The Tripartite Committee, formed in 1965, represents a broad spectrum of engineers: the presidents and vice-presidents of the United Engineering Trustees, Engineers Joint Council, and Engineering Index Incorporated are Committee members.

The Committee has determined that industry would support development of improved information products and services for the engineering community if presented with a concise engineered plan for solution of the recognized technical, socio-political, and economic problems involved and an estimate as to the probability of success. The principal activity will be accomplished under a contract administered and technically supervised by the Committee. The design, analysis, and planning tasks will provide the following products:

(a) System design specifications;

(b) Plan for system design, implementation, and operation;

(c) Plans for initial funding and achieving selfsupport;

(d) Personnel requirements and plans for recruiting;

(e) Estimate of the probability of success;

(f) Plans for continuing research and development; and

(g) Design of experiments for subsequent evaluation and improvement.

The results should enable the Tripartite Committee to obtain industry support for further development of the United Engineering Information System.

Frank Y. Speight is principal investigator for the project.

AGI Undertakes Planning of Info System Program for Geological Sciences

Uniting all of the geological sciences in one information system-that is the ultimate goal of a program for which the initial steps are being taken by the American Geological Institute (AGI). With funds amounting to $190,000

from the National Science Foundation, AGI has begun Phase I, Staffing and Communications Support.

The diverse but interdependent geological sciences produce a wealth of scientific literature. Mining this wealth of information is a necessary preliminary to exploiting-or conserving the natural resources on which these sciences are based.

An AGI Committee on Science Information, the establishment of which was authorized by AGI's Council of Society Presidents, is composed of nine members nominated by the AGI member societies. It was charged with the following specific tasks:

(a) To develop a concept for a national information system in the geosciences, with the corresponding definition of general policy and long range goals; and

(b) To formulate a tentative plan for geoscience information activities during the three-year period, 1969-1971.

At the request of the Committee and in accordance with the tentative priorities established by the Committee, about eight Working Groups will look into the following information areas: bibliographic services and publications; translations; vocabulary and terminology; meetings and personal communications; library sources and services; special information and data services; primary publications; and information on current research.

The funds granted by NSF will help AGI establish the capability for the geological community to initiate the undertaking of an information system program; maintain liaison, hold meetings, and travel in accordance with plans of the AGI Committee and its Working Groups; and purchase expertise and services required by the Committee to accomplish its objectives. Linn Hoover, executive director of AGI, is principal investigator for the project.

Further information about the program appears in Developing a Coordinated Information Program for Geological Scientists in the United States, which is available as PB 177 290 for $3 (65 cents, microfiche) from the Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical Information, Springfield, Virginia 22151.

*See Scientific Information Notes, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp.

21-22.

INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES

A Bibliography of Latin American Bibliographies is in process.* Nearly 1,800 bibliographical works were published during the period 1950-1964. The best-represented subjects are in the fields of agriculture, archives, economics, education, history, law, library science, literature, medicine, and social sciences.

Means for the promotion of scientific and technological research, education, and the requisite availability of information were recommended by the Group of Experts in Science and Technology designated by the Organization of American States (OAS).** The Inter-American Cultural Council, at its fifth meeting in Maracay, Venezuela, in February, formulated recommendations to implement the proposed

program.

With the election June 14 of members of the permanent committees set up in accordance with these recommendations, the OAS has launched its effort to promote scientific and technical research, education, and information activities in the Americas. Chairing the Executive Committee of the Inter-American Cultural Council will be Patricio Rojas of Chile. The other members are: Luis G. Benitez, Paraguay; Victor Bravo Ahuja, Mexico; Olinto Camacho, Venezuela; Jacob Canter, United States; Juan Rafael Llerena Amadeo, Argentina; Antonio Moreira Couceiro, Brazil; and Manuel Noriega Morales, Guatemala.

Members of the Committee on Education are: Luis Alberto Baires, Honduras; Nelly BiaggiMonzon, Dominican Republic; Oscar Machado, Brazil; Alphonso Ocampo Londoño, Colombia;

by Arthur E. Gropp (librarian of the Columbus Memorial Library, Pan American Union), updating the compilation by C. K. Jones, Library of Congress, 1942.

**See Scientific Information Notes, Vol. 10, No. 1, page 7.

and Carlos Salazar Romero, Peru. The Committee on Science and Technology has as members Bernardo A. Houssay, Argentina; Rodrigo Orozco Saborio, Costa Rica; Kenneth S. Pitzer, United States; Alberto de Saint Malo, Panama; and Kenneth A. Julien, Trinidad and Tobago.

Specific measures marked for action by these committees, as recommended by the Council, include a new Regional Program of School and University Library Development and a study of the program relating to the development of books, libraries, and bibliography. The latter program is to be considered with a view to its implementation in coordination with the Regional Educational Development Program and the Regional Scientific and Technological Development Program.

A few scattered pockets of advanced scientific research, such as that done at the Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, are evident in Latin America. But more characteristic of research in Latin America, where the economy is heavily agricultural, are extensive and intensive scientific investigations in agriculture. Latin American agricultural and rural development information originates mainly in official and semi-official agencies, appears in non-book form, and has a very limited distribution. As a result, duplication of research effort occurs frequently.

Better interlibrary organization and mechanization, wherever feasible, of information processing, retrieval, and dissemination would eliminate much of this duplication of effort; and the funds saved could enable research to spurt ahead.

The Second Inter-American Meeting of Agricultural Librarians and Documentalists will take place December 2-7 in Bogotá, Colombia. Sponsors of the meeting include the Asociación Interamericana de Bibliotecarios y Documen

talistas Agrícolas (AIBDA), the Instituto Interamericano de Ciencias Agrícolas (IICA) of the OAS, and the Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario.

Symposia featuring distinguished speakers are planned on the Professional Training of Agricultural Librarians, Standardization of Technical Processes, Interlibrary Agricultural Cooperation, and Advances in Documentation.

A proposal for establishing integrated agricultural information and documentation centers throughout Latin America or for converting existing agricultural libraries to center-type operation was made at the Agricultural Development Council Seminar in Honolulu, Hawaii, in January.

IICA's Programa Interamericano de Desarrollo de Bibliotecas (PIDB), has already begun to establish regional centers and to designate leading agricultural libraries as regional centers. Particularly conspicuous in fomenting activity is the Inter-American Association of Agricultural Librarians and Documentalists (AIBDA). The executive secretary, Ana María Paz de Erickson, is conducting a survey of institutions and documentation centers, their holdings, and their activities. Her address is c/o IICA, Turrialba, Costa Rica. AIBDA publishes an information bulletin, Boletín informativo, for which its general secretary, Angela Hernandez de Caldas, is responsible. Her address is Apartado aéreo 449, Pasto, Nariño, Colombia. AIBDA also issues monographs as special bulletins. Hans Gravenhorst of the Instituto Bibliotecologico, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is president of AIBDA.

This year the IICA offered its eleventh training course for agricultural librarians, which began February 1 and will end July 31.

PIDB projects now under way include: (a) index of books in Spanish on agricultural sciences (some 1,600 titles so far);

(b) list of symbols for agricultural institutions (some 1,500 assembled);

(c) minimum standards of quality for agricultural institutions of higher learning in Latin America;

(d) standardization of bibliographical citations (joint project with AIBDA);

(e) index to Latin American theses of agriculture and related sciences; and

(f) cooperative cataloguing of the publications of IICA.

In the entire program use is being made of

the zone offices of IICA and certain key libraries designated as regional centers.

Israel To Market Programing and Systems Analysis Abroad

A new software corporation has emerged to promote contracts for Israeli programers and systems analysts. Recently founded by the Israeli government, ILTAM Corporation for Planning and Research acts as a focal point for those who might wish to contract or sub-contract for such exportable services in Israel.

Availability of Israeli experience and manpower makes possible handling of programing of any degree of complexity and large operations from the early stages of feasibility study and systems analysis down to physical planning, installation, and training of operators, programers, and systems analysts. The manpower includes nearly 1,000 skilled professionals, who have access to computer time at more than 50 different institutions and firms. In addition, a pool of potential manpower exists in the 500 students graduating annually in mathematics, statistics, and engineering at Israeli universities. Three large foreign computer manufacturers operate in Israel, and the country has its own growing computer company, Elbit.

ILTAM bases its expectations in the international market on this manpower and hardware and on the competitive position accorded its software industry by considerably lower costs. It contemplates overcoming one drawback, the difficulty involved in communications with a foreign contractor, by resorting to a high degree of specification in the case of programing and, in the case of systems analysis, by sending teams of experts wherever necessary abroad. It reckons with the growth of a fairly large market for computer applications in the developing countries, which are increasingly acquiring hardware; Israel has gained considerable reputation over the course of 15 years of work by Israeli technical specialists in those countries.

* by Herman Felstehausen, county director of the Land Tenure Center, Bogotá, Colombia, a cooperative program of the American Nations, the Agency for International Development, and the University of Wisconsin.