Marketing for online bibliographic services Available to Purchase

The marketing of online bibliographic products has been a largely unknown area for the components of the industry — Database Suppliers, System Operators, and Telecommunications Services. Information as to the characteristics of the marketing problem(s) involved has been limited due to the relatively short period in which the services have been available, and in view of the fact that the technological sophistication of the products had developed so rapidly that we have been essentially dealing with a new product or service every year or in even shorter time periods. While stability has not been achieved, patterns are certainly much more valid than ever in the past and BioSciences Information Service (BIOSIS) has been making a start in understanding some of the basic market conditions and attempting some simple correlations. In terms of the BIOSIS experience with its BIOSIS Previews magnetic tape service, we will present information on the geographic distribution of Previews usage, the variety of organizations and institutions employing online service, their distribution in terms of the Systems Operator involved and attempt some conclusions for the short range future.