Getting information to the public and our users : the OECD Experience

Abstract(s)

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has opened a web site called SourceOECD that allows the purchase of its publications over the Internet. SourceOECD has the facility to allow clients to purchase parts of a publication, for instance a statistical table or even parts of a database. This allows much better precision for the customers than if they have to purchase the complete printed or PDF publication, the principle of SourceOECD being that our customers can buy online as little or as much as they need. It also allows them to download their purchases in advance of receiving a paper copy. This paper will demonstrate the practical aspects of using SourceOECD. The Centre for Documentation and Information (CDI) at the OECD embarked on a radical change of its Internet site in 1999 and since then has offered to its clients a desktop catalogue in HTML with thousands of links to electronic periodicals and relevant Internet sites. A brief demonstration of the CDI’s Intranet site and explanation of its evolution will be of interest to other librarians who are at either at this stage of development or are considering mounting their catalogue onto an Intranet/Internet site.