Prepared under contract with the International Council on Archives (ICA), this guide provides descriptions of all classes of public records held by the British Public Record Office (PRO) which are likely to contain scientific or technical information. The PRO is responsible for keeping and making available to the public those records of the British central government and of the courts in England and Wales which have been selected for permanent preservation. (Records of the courts of law are excluded from this guide.) The descriptions are grouped into three parts: Civil Government, Defense, and Overseas. Within each part, the record classes are grouped in subject categories and subcategories with a brief account of government involvement in each subject area preceding the class descriptions themselves. Subject categories within the Civil Government section include: scientific and industrial research; agriculture, fisheries, and food; environmental, building, public health, and medical services; transport and communications; trade and industry; fuel and power; and social and economic sciences. Within Defense, the subjects include: strategy and planning; arms, fortifications, and supplies; land forces; naval forces; air forces; and medical services. Within Overseas, subjects include: foreign affairs and colonial affairs. A list of Public Record Office Handbooks is appended. This guide is intended to indicate the extent to which government archives contain information on a variety of subjects and to serve as a model and an example for other countries which are still unaware of the unique information resource represented by their government's archives. (THC)