Via Open Public Access Catalogue and homepages, libraries become more visible and accessible than ever before. It is no longer important what a library has in stock, but ever more important to what sources a library can provide access. German libraries have suffered severe cutbacks over the past years. Information has become a business. A lot of money has been invested in the expansion of the Internet, in multimedia development and electronic publishing.
Libraries have to compete and sometimes fight for budgets.
They seek to do business on new terms with data base vendors, electronic publishers and commercial providers. The new copyright laws which are discussed in the US and in the EU could have severe consequences for library activities. Libraries are no longer setting the rules of information storage and retrieval. They are only one stakeholder in a large field. To rise to this challenge, libraries have developed not only new technical skills and systems, but new structures and new ways to work.