Abstract
The production of databases in public education (universities, high schools, museums) and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) was studied at the beginning of 1986. 141 databases were observed, most of them had been developed in the life sciences as well as in the earth, ocean and space sciences. Slightly more than fifty per cent of them are operational; others are in progress. The ratio of databases to scientific researchers is different from one scientific sector to another: it is low in mathematics and physics, and highest in the life sciences. Databases are produced by small staffs from 1.5 to 3 person with a 2-person average. A regional study of the production shows the importance of the Paris area (lIe de France) in addition to three other regions: Rhône-Alpes, Lorraine and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Most of the databases have been created recently and the principal type of data is factual. Online access to these databases is via the host computer or via computer centers. New technologies for local treatment of data by CD-ROM are under study.