User needs in chemical information

Information is of great value in our modern industrial society. In chemistry, a discipline in which compounds and compound classes play the most important role, information on about 10 million compounds has been registered. This number increases annually by 0.5 million compounds published in about 0.5 million documents. In this context it is a prerequisite that the information hidden in books, scientific and technical journals, conference proceedings, dissertations, etc. be evaluated and presented by abstracting and indexing services and database producers. Timeliness, accuracy, and completeness of the information are high on the list of desirata of the users in chemistry. It is of great importance that all new information published in a primary source be considered and made searchable. Furthermore, properties of compounds including stereochemistry, toxicity, environmental behavior, etc. have to be made searchable, too. Factual and/or numerical data and reviews are requested as well. User friendliness of the services is of high priority. In the future, the electronic media will dominate the field of information more and more therefore many improvements in search methods are necessary