ABSTRACT
This chapter offers some general guidance on the pros and cons of the alternative formats and some views on the evaluation of databases in general. The increasing use of multimedia facilities in CD-ROM databases offers an ideal opportunity to enhance a print product - or even an online product - with capabilities not possible in other media. While lack of marketing direction may be irritating, perhaps the most serious failing in any database is poor or poorly validated data. In the United Kingdom, the Library Association and the United Kingdom Online User Group are working towards a methodology for a database quality infrastructure in which the terms 'fitness for purpose or use' and 'reliability' can be applied meaningfully so that users can confidently rely on the databases purchased. When retrieval from CD-ROM databases is compared with retrieval from online equivalents a major shortcoming is often revealed - response time.
