Developing countries rely on up-to-date information from technologically advanced countries, such as the United States of America and the United Kingdom, especially in the areas of science and technology, as a means to providing help for their scientists in the transfer of technology and in research development. Optical disc technology may prove to be an alternate approach for the access of massive information storage and retrieval. This will provide an in-house information retrieval system with access to millions of records now already made available on optical discs. This in-house system will avoid cost associated with telecommunication tariffs and provide unlimited access. Major areas of information in which optical disc databases can help are discussed. introduction Developing countries are encountering many problems in providing their scientists and technologists with current technical information. Transfer of Technology (TT) and Research and Development (R&D) are the two policy priorities explicitly given by almost all developing countries. These policy priorities are given for the purpose of increasing a country's capabilities for autonomous technological decisions which may contribute to attainments of its social and economic development goals. The role of R & D in the TT and the implementation of such technological innovations is important. R & D and TT are not interdependent but are, rather, mutually dependent, TT concerns the exchange from technologically developed countries to developing countries. Within a developing country, national R & D becomes necessary to its smooth implementation of transfered technology. R & D is vital to a developing country's adoption of up-to-date technology because local detail work is involved in the TT for application purposes. TT and R & D are very dependent on the availability of technological information, without which local R & D can-