Such access would greatly benefit lifelong learning and access to cultural resources. As more and more information becomes available in electronic form only, such access may also constitute an essential feature in enabling the citizenry to make informed choices. Unless the requirement for legal deposit of publications is extended to include electronic media there is a danger of much of the scientific and cultural life of the nation being lost to future generations. However, extension of such responsibility to the National Libraries needs to be accompanied with funding to enable the necessary archiving of and access to the newly deposited resources. Libraries of all kinds throughout the country are holding in trust a vast investment in paperbased publications, most of which will never be available in digital form.
Most libraries do provide some means of public access to their electronic catalogues.
While all current printed material finds its way into these systems, millions of older publications are effectively lost to public view. In conclusion we would point out that while grant aid of 300 million pounds or more per annum would be a very welcome addition to the funding streams available for Information and Communications Technology in this country, it should never be seen as a substitute for the mainstream government investment that is needed to build The Information Society.