Electronic access: what IEEE members say they want

With today's Worldwide Web technology it is possible to make virtually any document available for access on a controlled basis for members of technical associations, such as the IEEE. The question is, what is it that members want enough to actually use and be willing to pay for? A surrogate for test marketing products and determining the result by trial and error is conducting surveys which ask the potential customers what they would like to have delivered to them online. With this as the objective, questionnaires were sent to a random sample of 2000 members, of whom 1043 responded. The responses characterized their present use of the Internet, their future interests, and desirable new features and services. These results provide insights into why actual usage of online publications has been far less than expected. For example, there are some clues that members want access to more information electronically than what they typically obtain by subscribing to individual print publications. It may be that a very broad offering of material, either with a bulk discount or per item charge, is the way of the future.