End‐user document access, retrieval and delivery systems ‐ a developer’s tale Available to Purchase

During the last year or so we have seen glimpses of a brave new world of futuristic “next generation” systems offering all manner of document access, retrieval and delivery systems for the end‐user, predictions of revolution in the publishing business and the imminent demise of the Library and Information professionals. This paper addresses some of the issues that face the developers of such systems. It shows that current technology cannot satisfy fully the expectation and that such systems will challenge many well‐established cultural aspects and infrastructures of organizations. The views expressed are based on the experience of the author who worked for 18 months on a project for the British Library, codenamed DiSCovery (now called Inside). This product seeks to combine the latest technology and operational practices into a system that has the potential to revolutionize the way users access and receive material from the British Library.