The past ten years as viewed by a former online intermediary

Abstract

The author, based on her experiences as an intermediary of online search services in the National Technical Information Centre and Library (OMIKK), discusses the reasons of establishing access to various online hosts in order to satisfy end user needs as much as possible. The hosts chosen for online searching by OMIKK were Dialog, Data-Star, IAEA, Orbit. Pergamon InfoLine, CAS Online (STN), TED and TRADSTAT. Following the analysis of database utilization of these hosts, a brief overview of some recent developments in the international online industry is given as a guideline for development trends in Hungary. Finally, the variation and recent decline of the online information market in the past ten years is evaluated.