Access to information in electronic age — situation in Slovakia

Electronic publishing brings about some substantial shifts in technological as well as socio-political patterns that were in place during the era of paper publications. The tension between producer and consumer side of the information cycle is the most significant feature of this change. Authors and publishers try to maximise their revenues from the marketing of information and backed by the possibilities of technology they force major changes in legislation governing the area of (public) information access. In this environment, the society's interest in a wide-spread accessibility of electronic data must be balanced by substantial financial investments – a solution that only the rich economies of the world can feel comfortable with.