Program Libraries help scientific researchers with an interest in programming to use other people's work to enhance their own capabilities. It implies a good level of knowledge in the area and computer skills. However many scientific researchers, particularly true in the 1960s, did not have the computer skills but wished to use other people's programs on their problems. They just wanted to input data that described their problem and use the expertise of others to get the results they required.
Whereas a library expects computer expertise as well as scientific understanding, a suite or system of programs expects knowledge of the area and the ability to define the problem. The emphasis with a suite of programs is making it easy for the user to input the data for the problem and to provide paths through the suite that suit most of the users.
Many systems of this form were set up during the life of the Chilton Atlas. They mostly came with local expertise at Chilton to help the users to best express their problems and the best way to tackle their solution.
Systems that came in this category were:
