Libraries belong to the so-called ‘memory organisations’, together with archives and museums. This reflects the fact that the global library system acts as the collective memory of the world’s cultural and scientific heritage as recorded in the printed word. In the world of printed publications only libraries perform a memory function which guarantees to a certain extent that publications are not lost after immediate use. Digital deposit libraries could interconnect to form a comprehensive archival backbone for other libraries to provide service to users. In this way, there is no need for these other libraries to maintain their own digital collections (other than very frequently used current materials). Although the cost of digital archiving is higher than that of print archiving, this system would create enormous savings as compared to the current system.