A user’s view on the electronic library

The electronic library offers researchers the opportunity to consult more information sources than ever before. The times of long visits to the library to browse through books and journals belong in the past for many of us. In addition, the personal relationships with experienced library staff who knew your interests has disappeared. This has been replaced by search profiles that supply you with regular updates on new publications in your field of research. The electronic library is, however, more than a digitalized version of the old library. Searching has become easy and quick, and the number of databases that can be accessed has increased significantly. For most users the library is, however, no longer the only, or even the main, road along which information becomes available. It is used in combination with the many sources that have emerged along the electronic highway. The main problem for the user is how to manage all these different resources. Although the library information system is relatively easy to use and shows a large number of user-friendly extras, it is not what he/she really needs. What the user really needs is intelligent assistance in using this combination of local and remote information sources. However, nothing is for free. The question is how are we going to pay for all these new opportunities in a time of diminishing budgets. The answer may be to make full use of the electronic library.