The digital library is a socio‐technical concept of great significance. It redefines the relationships between information providers and intermediaries and, potentially, transforms the way that services are delivered to users. This article, based on a British Library Research & Innovation...

The introduction of the printing press to Europe in the mid‐fifteenth century, and its effect on the communication of information, are considered, largely by reference to the writings of Elisabeth Eisenstein. Analogies and similarities with the impact of the Internet are identified, as a way...