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Abstract

In terms of national developments, the UK has several initiatives which have the use of digital information at their core. At the root of all these developments are issues of policy and economics. It seems that libraries will be faced with additional costs of services based upon digital materials while maintaining traditional services, and that the users of information will increasingly be faced with charged services to ensure sustainability. The paper reviews these developments, with a more detailed look at the British Library's plans, and attempts to identify some common threads and preoccupations as seen from the UK perspective, such as universality and access, complementarity and competition, project funding and sustainability, and the relationship between public good and charging for services.

How to Cite: Smith, N., 1997. The digital mousetrap. Serials, 10(2), pp.202–211. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1629/10202