Once a requested electronic publication has been located, accessing and using it can be cumbersome.
Electronic publications require that certain hardware and software be available at the user's site.
A library that owns or leases electronic publications therefore will have to provide the necessary reading devices for each storage medium to be used. Electronic publications in HTML format on the World Wide Web not only require networked terminals at the user's site, but also often make it necessary that a particular version of the browser and other software be installed. Networked documents depend on a stable and reliable infrastructure. At present, bandwidth does not keep up with demand. Even in technologically developed countries, accessing networked documents can be painfully slow, and the situation is even worse in countries with less stable infrastructure.