The reality of the European Union s commitment to openness and the dynamism of its engagement in electronic publishing and document delivery may be a matter of pride for the Commission s information professionals but there is no complacency about what is required to sustain this effort or the challenges posed by the information society. One of the working definitions of openness which has emerged in the course of an inter-institutional review of editorial and publishing strategy is that the workings of the institutions should be as visible as possible to the people they serve and that European citizens have the right to know what exactly the institutions are doing and how and why they do it. To translate such an institutional attitude and ambition into reality is much easier said than done. New technology will certainly be increasingly helpful but one must also be alert to the fact that change can sometimes have perverse effects and can put at risk levels of access and openness that have long taken for granted. Let me give some examples.
Electronic information is still only accessible to a privileged few.
Access requires equipment, there are connection costs, and some training is required. Information on the Internet, which is often currently treated as if it were free, will cost more as the mechanisms of electronic charging become well-established. How public information should be priced is already an important question where print, database and CD-ROM media are concerned. Public libraries, which have long been the information reference points serving the least privileged in society, are finding it increasingly difficult to acquire the publications and equipment they need to maintain established standards of service. The replacement of a print publication by an electronic one may thus mean less not more openness.