AGENCY ACTIVITIES RELATING TO ABSTRACTING AND CODING OF INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP51-00036A000100010002-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 26, 2004
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: September 16, 1949
• Content Type: MEMO

.TA.JDARD FORM No. ea Sanitized - App, J "Mulease : CIA-RDP51-00036AOO fl002-9
Office Memorandum ?~U~,PED STATES GOVERNMENT
TO :Assistant Director for Col
Dissemination
FROM :Management Officer
Ezecutive R :stry
D a-~
SUBJECT:Agency Activities Relating to Abstracting and Coding of Intel -
gence Information.
1.. Problems relating to the subject activity together with
a proposed -solution are presented for your consideration and -comment. The Management Office recognizes that the basic idea
of abstracting and'Ooding by production specialists is not new
and that this idea has to a limited extent been successfully accom-
plished under OCD'sponsorship. In view of this successful experi-
~
ment, it is felt that an extension of this concept, as-embodied 67
in our proposal, is both so workable.
2. Present Agency organizational and functional statements
allocate primary responsibility for abstracting, coding and indexing -
intelligence information to OCD. Three separate organizations within
OCD are engaged in this activity:
a. Library and Machine' Methods Branch - General subject
and area classification of intelligence information and limited-
abstracting of important documents.
b. -Biographic Register-- Extraction and classification of
biographic and organizational data.
c. Industrial Register - Extraction and classification of
plant, industrial, and other economic data.
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A total or approximately 125 positions are au
exclusive of the machine operations. By organiza-
stated-activities
,
tional. separation of the activities, the same intelligence document Gi
ma' be processed by all three OCD organizations. (See Tab A for p,'e`?
presen procedural flow. . _,
3. The production' offices of the Agency (ORE and OSI) generally
find OCD service of limited value. These reservations arise from
one or more of'the following basic deficiencies:
a. The classification systems are not constructed so as
to provide the information specifically requested by intelli-
gence researchers, e.g., the library system makes no provision0_~+
for detailed identification of scientific data. e
b. The Register information may be incomplete in critical
areas while abounding in other areas, or it may not-be current.
DATE: 16 September 1949_
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 Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP51-00036AO0010001 9
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abstract, and code with the requisite accuracy. Also, OCD jA- professional personnel personnel are far removed from the intelligence s1production operation and are v g specific guidance w .
from ORE and OSI.
c. OCD professional personnel, do not have the area2\/1'"r
4. The inadequacies of OCD service have resulted in consider-
able duplication of effort:
a. All ORE and OSI researchers maintain some kind of card,
clipping, or report information file. Little uniformity exists
as to scope, procedures, or content of these researchers'
working files. (Jr