The British Library: the changing face of document supply

The purpose of this article is to describe the response of the British Library to the changing environment for document supply.

The paper provides a descriptive analysis of the response of the British Library to the changing environment for document supply.

The British Library will shift from a high volume business focussed on current, heavily used material to a more mixed portfolio; one in which it services both demand for current, heavily used material but also and increasingly, “the long tail”.

The paper provides an insight into the current response of the largest document supplier in the world to the current, rapidly changing environment.