[Documentation in developing countries and related technological issues]

While bibliographical referencing and indexing services have risen to a high level of efficiency-thanks to computers and other technical innovations-the same cannot be said for documentation in the form of texts and charts. However early an order is placed, it can take weeks for the final stage of the process to be completed. If even in developed countries the process can be slow and costly, in developing countries it is affected by the same socioeconomic conditions that impede the provision of health services. In the latter countries wide variations are apparent in the numbers of libraries, collections and lending library systems, and in the accessibility of books and journals on health. For physicians and nurses at some remote locations the only source of information on discoveries and new ideas may be the advertising supplied to them by traveling medical salesmen. There are grounds for optimism, however. In these countries more and more important books and journals are being published in the health field. In Latin America a number of areas of national interaction have come into view which promise to grow into a true network of biomedical and health information.