ABSTRACT
Separate storage and cataloguing assist in controlling access to reports and overcoming the problems of maintaining consistent treatment when cataloguing. The solution is to provide access to the reports only via the information unit which will search the catalogues and other indexes for the report. The standard guides suggest that for the description and identification of technical reports the required elements of cataloguing are: accession and/or report serial number; corporate author; title; personal author; date; pagination; contract or grant number; availability; subject index entries; and security classification. Information units may find that indexing progress reports poses interesting problems and they may also consider that there is no necessity to index committee minutes. Access to any reports index can be, and most usually is, via the reports centre staff, though the enquirer sometimes is given access directly to the index itself.
