The true pioneers in electronic publishing put their bibliographic databases on tape and online in the 1960s. Nearly all of them had long experience with compiling information for distribution in printed form and a strong market connection. As a result of Soviet advances in science and space technology, American government support for information science and academic libraries flowed freely for a little over a decade, making possible tremendous advances in technology, in retrieval techniques and in sophisticated coverage. Advances in information technology and market conditions have...