COMMISSION 5: DOCUMENTATION AND ASTRONOMICAL DATA Report of Meetings, 18, 21, and 23 August 1982 I. WORKING GROUP ON ASTRONOMICAL DATA CHAIRMAN: B. Hauck The first part of the meeting was devoted to business. The Chairman reported on the activity of the Working Group during the period 1979-1982. The main activity was concentrated on trying to centralize information concering astronomical plate vaults (see IAU Inf.Bull.48, June 1982). The Working Group also prepared a resolu- tion concerning FITS. The Chairman attended the assembly of CODATA at Kyoto in 1980 as IAU Delegate. Drs. Mead and Terashita were elected as new members of the Organizing Commit- tee, the membership of which is otherwise unchanged. Chairman and Vice-Chairman will remain in office. It was decided to modify the structure of the W.G. by remo- ving the notion of subgroup, and by no longer considering "Nomenclature" to be re- levant to this Working Group. G.Wilkens then presented the finalized "Guide to the Presentation of Astronomical Data" (CODATA Bulletin 46, 1982). This Guide contains general recommendations to editors, referees, and authors on the reporting of nume- rical data obtained from astronomical observations. Copies may be orderd from the CODATA Secrtariat, 51 Bd de Montmorency, 75016 Paris. B.Hauch reported on the plate vaults and was able to announce that two observatories had alread sent the copies of their files to the Stellar Data Centre at Strasbourg. The scientific part of the meeting was devoted to "Transfer of Astronomical Data". P.Grosbol reported on the Flexible Image Transport System (FITS), the pur- pose of which is to simplify the problems involved in the transfer of arrays of "image" data between different observatories, and different computer systems in particular. Data networds are also importan for thetransfer of data. Presenta- tions on such networds in the United Kingdom, Italy, and France were prepared, re- spectively by K.Tritton (read by G.Wilkins), G.Sedmak (read by S.Catalano), and F.Ochsenbein. The composition of the Working Group as of 1982/83 is: Chairman: B.Hauck Vice-Chairman: G.Westerhout Organizing Committee: W.P.Bidelman, O.G.Dluzhnevskaya, R.Duncombe, W.Heintz, C.Jaschek, T.Lederle, J.Mead, Y.Terashita, G.Wilkins. Members: J.F.Dolan, R.S.Dixon, P.Grosbol, A.Heck, P.Lantos, G.Lynga, J.Nishi- mura, F.Ochsenbein, L.E.Pasinetti, A.G.D.Philip, J.Shakeshaft, F.Spite, K.Tritton, P.T.Wallace, W.Warren. [This was followed by the minutes of the Working Group on Editorial Policies and the Working Group on Classification Systems and Information Retrieval, which are not reproduced here] This was followed by the minutes of the Special Working Group on Designations, which contains the following relevant paragraph (on page 74): "Grosbol discussed the presentation of catalogs, especially in view of their exchange by magnetic tape. He advised the creation of an ad-hoc group (with Harten, Ochsenbein, Tritton, and Warren) which will study the matter, and expects to formu- appropriate recommendations." This was followed by the minutes of the Full Commission Meeting (23 August 1982) which contains the following relevant paragraph (on page 77): "The Special Group on Standardization of Exchange of Astronomical Data, to be chaired by P.Grosbol, was approved as proposed in the preceding meeting on designa- tions." Reference: Transactions of the International Astronomical Union (1982), Vol. XVIIIB, pp 73-77.