Chemical Information 2

This volume contains the full text of twenty ofthe twenty-one papers given at the Montreux 1990 International Chemical Information Conference in Mon­ treux, Switzerland between 24 and 26 September 1990. The one paper that is omitted was not received in time for incorporation in these Proceedings. The papers reflect the diverse nature of chemical information, an information field that has usually been in the forefront of applying new technology to solving information problems. In many ways, the electronic information revolution is still in its infancy; during the Montreux conferences, we intend to chart the dynamic interaction between chemical information and new technology. One publishing problem with an information field that moves so rapidly is the constant need to make printed information available within weeks or months of it being written. The majority of papers in this volume were written during the period May - July 1990. Conventional publishing, of course, allows authors time to proof-read their texts, to make changes and corrections and allows time for the contents to be indexed extensively. Time, however, is a luxury in the case of conference proceedings in the area of chemical, pharmaceutical and patent information at the beginning of the 1990s. We hope readers will appreciate the necessary trade-off that has had to take place between text thoroughly prepared, revised, indexed and corrected; and text that is available for general readership soon after it was written.