ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses digitisation changes the number, type and strategies of professional information providers and consequently affects prices and diversity of professional information. Professional information is an indispensable resource in today's economy and tomorrow's information society. Analysis of the agricultural trade information market in the Netherlands in the period 1991-2000 confirms these observations and expectations, with one major exception. The number of non-traditional information providers on the agricultural information market does not increase but rather declines. Web sites provided by traditional and non-traditional providers of print agricultural titles make up only a small portion of all Dutch web sites that inform about farmers, their suppliers, their advisors, their business customers and other relevant organisations. Information market journals, in contrast, pay more attention than other types of journals to international trade and competition issues, whereas journals from attention seekers and content producers pay more attention to employment-related issues.