Comparison of cairs and status information storage and retrieval software over a 3 month period

Following a period of about a year in which “desk” assessments were made of information storage and retrieval packages to narrow the options down, the software packages CAIRS and STATUS were evaluated operationally in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, during a the period between February and July 1981. The packages, loaded on to separate computers, were used to build up databases and databanks based on existing technical information/library services. As far as possible, direct comparison were made from implementation through to retrievals. A range of types of services from bibliographic (library) through to factual text and numeric data ranging across several Divisions of the Ministry were covered. Input and retrieval was remotely via GPO lines and private wire networks. The paper presents the major conclusions with particular emphasis on the databank component of the trial.