1996

Lehti, Merja

During 1995, a multinational study, initiated under the The European Commissionís IMPACT 2 -programme, was done to assess the markets for electronic information services (EIS) for professional purposes in 1994 in the countries of the European Economic Area (EEA). The participating 17 countries covered the supply and demand sides of the EIS market, as well as various infrastructure sections related to these markets. Finland covered the supply and demand sides of the markets for electronic information services by quantitative means. The supply questionnaire was sent to 147 recipients, a) Finnish database producers and hosts of online information systems, including representatives of foreign hosts, b) suppliers of telematic services and c) audiotex services, d) electronic mail services and Internet connections, and to e) producers or distributors of offline information products, mostly of CD-ROMs. The demand questionnaire was sent to 108 recipients in four target groups, a) information brokers and external information intermediaries and to b) the main scientific and research libraries, acting as information brokers in their special fields; also to c) the main public libraries and d) an industrial group, i.e. intermediaries in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in Finland. The quantitative surveys were supplemented by qualitative information gathered from various printed sources and in discussions with experts of the branches concerned. - The overall response rate of the supply side was 29%, that of the demand side 36%. In addition, Finland covered the following infrastructure sections related to the markets for electronic information services: library services, printed media infrastructure, professional associations, education and training, research and development, telecommunications infrastructure, computer infrastructure, economic and political infrastructure, national information policy, legal and regulatory issues. The sections were covered up to a varying scope and by means of printed sources and expert opinions. A chapter about future visions of communications is also included. - The present report about Finland is a modification of the one delivered to CEC in November, 1995.