Multinational pharmaceutical companies gather in Berlin.

The 39th Annual General Meeting of the Pharma Documentation Ring (PDR) was held in Berlin, Germany, on September 26, 1997. Common themes reported on included the impact and widespread use of intranet technology; expansion in end-user searching; experience with electronic journals; and programs for the development of electronic archiving and document management systems. Other sessions discussed aspects of chemistry systems; copyright; drug information systems on development products; information management, in-house management of databases; Intranet/Internet activities; and patents. The core topic presented at the meeting involved an overview on document delivery/electronic journals. There is considerable activity in this area by primary and secondary publishers with real momentum seen in the area of electronic document delivery services on the Internet. The 40th anniversary of the PDR will be celebrated at the upcoming AGM, to be held in Montpellier, France, September 30 October 2, 1998.