Current trends in documentation

Abstract

Documentation tends to solve its steadily increasing tasks in various ways. The largest documentation services procees a quarter of a million documents annually. The vernacular literature of the developing countries has also been growing in importance.
In the field of documentation, countries in increasing numbers tend to switch over to centralized, governmental control and planning systems. In the western countries, some 4 to 5 per cent of scientific and industrial R&D expenditures are spent on documentation.
Most remarkable among the trends in the development of documentation are applications of technological possibilities on a wide scale starting out from the simplest routines up to automation involving complete changes. There is a remarkable shift from written (printed) documents towards audio-visual documents. The development of micro-film tecnniques (e.g. ultramicrofiche) also involves a similar change.
The development of networks and systems, as well as the numerical increase of various clearinghouses, etc. are characteristic organizational features.