Usage of online databases in Eastern Europe

Abstract

The changes toward a market economy taking place in Central and Eastern Europe, have influenced also the flow of information from the West to the East. In the last years online accessible databases have shown a dramatic development worldwide. However, only a tiny fraction of the databases are offered by the former COMECON countries. The access of Western databases from these countries has been paralysed by several technical and information policyfactors. The access has been based mainly on network access points in Austria. Central and Eastern European countries have been using since the early eighties online databases of West European and American hosts. Most of the host (15) are accessed from Hungary, and this country is, too, where the significance of electronic information services has been recognized most of all and where also the conditions of use have been established. The database usage in the countries of this region is especially oriented to information searching in the chemical and pharmaceutical fields (as number one), in life sciences and medicine, (or patents, in various engineering fields, in the agriculture and in several business sectors. The main emphasis of usage is put on bibliographic databases. With the recent economic changes in this area, however, a reduction in the demand for information services is foreseen, at least for the time being, but later a general growth trend is anticipated. To achieve this goal, a well established information policy, and the availability of financial and technical conditions are needed.