The genesis of bibliographic databases and the role of their producers in the chain of information generation, organization. dissemination and use is reviewed. The changes that are currently being sought by the various elements in the chain are described and the effects these may have are considered.

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The development of the INSPEC Database for online application is used as the basis for discussion of some of the major policy considerations. These include systems of indexing and other access points; the choice of online service provider (or providing one's own); the allocation of database costs between online services and printed products; pricing; downloading; and training. The impact of developments such as searching by end-users, electronic publishing, and full-text databases is briefly examined.