Veterinary information: the current situation and future trends.

Veterinary science is well supplied with abstracting and indexing hournals. Both experience and an investigation undertaken for the Food and Agriculture Organisation indicate that they are comprehensive in scope and subject coverage. Computer operation of information services is now routine, and mechanised alerting and retrospective services are available. A veterinary round table was set up in 1973 by the Commission of the European Communities to attempt to improve veterinary information. The round table is conducting a detailed study of the value of the available machine information systems to veterinarians and is compiling a multi-lingual thesaurus. In addition, it is investigating the need for a new review journal, methods of recording animal disease incidence and variations in the needs of the different types of veterinarians for information. The use of machine information systems is expected to become more widespread in the near future. Many will be available on-line, a method of working which offers great advantages in speed and flexibility of operation.