Compact Disk-Read Only Memory

Budgeting. These changes in the storage and retrieval of chemical information requite that Hbraries and information centers now consider not only what should be purchased but also what monies should be allocated for the purchase of information in nonprint formats such as CD-ROMs (compact disk read-only memory) and on-line databases. Coupled with this is budgeting for the cost of hardware and software to enable the rapid and cost-effective deHvery of needed information (15). The geometric increase in sources, both printed and on-line, has increased the role of information speciaHst as an expert in the deHvery of chemical information. Retrieval from increasingly diverse and complex sources becomes the paramount issue for searchers of chemical Hterature in the 1990s. 

Capadties (RAM [random access memory], hard disk, floppy disk, DAT [digital audio tape], CD-ROM [compact disk, read-only memory], etc.)... 

CD-ROM = compact disk, read-only memory I/O = input/output RFI = radio-frequency interference ... 

Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Compact disk - read only memory(s)... 

Figure 1 shows a schema for an ideal distributed chemical information system. Several authors in this book refer to the need for standard interfaces. Ultimately, the personal computer will provide the graphics interface not only to personal computer databases but also to company databases running on the company mainframe, and possibly also through the same network to public hosts, so that the chemist using a personal workstation will be able to create queries which can be addressed to local files, company files and public files. Soon, chemical databases will be available on Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) searchable by both substructure and text. These too fit into the scheme of Figure 1. Databases such as infra-red spectra libraries will have structure-searchable components either on the personal computer or on the laboratory instrument and will also be used through the same graphical interface.

Storage on modern systems, if drives for removable disks, writable CDs (compact disks), CD-ROMs (compact disk, read-only memory), DVDs (digital video disk), and magnetic tapes are allowed or there are network connections to servers with large-capacity storage devices where data can be stored, is virtually infinite. 

There is a wide variety of sources of information available which can be classified by the medium used. The main ones are paper-based materials such as books and periodicals computer-based materials such as on-line databases and CD-ROM (Compact Disk - Read Only Memory) and other media including videos, film and microfiche. 

The term online database has been established for databases, which are offered to the public by specialized database providers, called hosts using national and international public data networks or the Internet. CD-ROMs (compact disk read only memory) were introduced in the mid 1980s and are still essentially a read only medium. A single CD-ROM has the capacity to store approximately 650 MB of data. 

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