Report of the Panel on Neutron Data Compilation. Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA, 10-14 February 1969

After surveying current world needs for bibliographic and compilation activities in the field of neutron data, the report of this Panel of 31 individual technical experts, considers the immediate and future role of the world's neutron data centres in this task. In Chapter V the Panel's findings are summarized in the form of recommendations directed to the centres and their associated national and international advisory committees together with all users of the centres. The Panel's recommendations can be summarised as follows: a) The need for bibliographic indexing and numerical compilation of neutron data on an international basis has been clearly demonstrated and should continue for the foreseeable future; b) The operation of CINDA has been extremely satisfactory; c) Neutron data should be compiled at all energies by all centres subject to any mutually agreed exceptions and priorities; d) A fine-meshed classification scheme for neutron reactions should be formulated and put into use before the end of 1969 in accordance with the timetable; e) A scheme for associating a detailed statement of the main characteristics of each experiment with compilations of the resulting data should be formulated and put into preliminary operation before the end of 1969; f) The immediate primary tasks of the principal data centres are to complete the compilation of existing numerical data, whilst keeping abreast of new data, and to agree and implement an improved compilation, storage and retrieval system; g) Input of experimental data can be facilitated by specific measures; h) Centres should publish review publications which they believe will serve the user community; i) The centres should provide data to users in a variety of media: printed listings, graphs, paper tape, punched cards and magnetic tape - but should encourage standardization within each medium so as to free effort to meet special requirements of users having limited computer facilities; j) Centres should hold and disseminate evaluated data on request to users within their respective service areas; k) In order to increase the effectiveness of world evaluation work: The IAEA should organise discussions on evaluation methods and bring together groups engaged in evaluation; l) The compilation of integral data should he considered by IWGPR and EACRP, the centres may have a role to play in the dissemination of compiled integral data; m) The centres' activities should be publicised in such a way as to increase their usefulness per unit cost; n) The centres should keep abreast of general developments in computer technology and information science and seek closer links with other centres working in related fields; o) The need and right of individual centres and their associated committees to give different priorities to the implementation of these recommendations should be recognized but several centres should work for ever-increasing cooperation. No attempt has been made to classify these recommendations as directed specifically to the IAEA, INDC, Centres etc. The Panel believes they should be studied by all appropriate corporate bodies and individuals