(CD-ROM, DVD-R etc.)

The findings and recommendations of the European ‘National Libraries Project on CD-ROM’ were widely used in the production of national bibliographies on CD-ROM. In general CD-ROM complemented rather than replaced the printed versions. Most countries that published their national bibliography on CD-ROM also offered the same data online, some as a separate database, others as a part of their national library catalogue.

CD-ROM delivered some specific benefits in terms of information retrieval and distribution of machine readable data over other formats. However currency was an issue and distribution costs were relatively high. CD-ROM was popular during the 1990s, but is now largely superseded. The software developed to support national bibliographies on CD-ROM is showing its age when compared with contemporary Web interfaces.