Information storage and retrieval-analysis of the state of the art

Information retrieval, like the weather, stimulates a good deal of verbal clamor and speculation, yet remains vexingly elusive and unmanageable. Hopefully, both the weather and recorded information will eventually prove amenable to some form of human control. In the meantime, there must be a continuing effort to achieve balance in the evolution of the concept and equipment aspects of information storage and retrieval (IS&R). It is reasonable to expect overemphasis on equipment capabilities. The emergence of IS&R as a distinct discipline is largely attributable to the significant advances of modern computer technology.