Second, since they are remotely stored and managed, the library does not incur the expense of managing those databases. Libraries do have to manage the subscription costs, transaction fees, connectivity charges, and monthly phone charges where they exist in order to access online or Internet-based information. I would hesitate to rely on online or Internet databases as my sole source of legal information. The trade-off between reliability and costs has not, in my opinion, been resolved in favor of online resources, especially the Internet. The Internet is not entirely stable or predictable.
Information moves from place to place, Internet service providers go bankrupt, domain names change.
The data on a CD is fixed. While it can't be updated as frequently as online information, neither can it be tampered with or removed. The data on a CD is fixed. While it can't be updated as frequently as online information, neither can it be tampered with or removed. We also tend to have greater confidence in commercially produced data that is reviewed and edited.