The Work of BEDIS (Book Trade Electronic Data Interchange Standards Committee)

For ten or more years it has been the wish of libraries and library suppliers to communicate electronically, but in 1989 it is still the case that the vast majority of orders, chasers, reports, invoices and statements are still being exchanged on paper. It is true that a minority of messages are being passed on diskette, magnetic tape, or via electronic mail, but these are largely as the result of private arrangements using widely differing standards and formats.