Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the methods of information storage and retrieval which depend merely on reducing the volume required to hold text without, at the same time, altering its form to one interpretable by computer. This is justifiable because things such as microfilm, while easing the storage problems of the librarian, do nothing to help him render a better service to the reader who needs advice rather than specific texts. Even librarians, who admit to a vested interest in the matter, agree that the problem of recovering stored information is already beyond the capabilities of a classical library system, and considerable research effort has been expended in investigating other solutions. The strength of Walnut lies in its ability to output the original texts, its weakness in the fact that relevant stored texts will only be recovered in answer to a question if the descriptors are themselves adequate.