Purpose -To provide an overview of, the relationship between the British Library and higher education libraries in the 1990s, with particular relation to document supply. It also goes on to explore current developments in scholarly communication. Design/methodology/approach -The author played a role in several of the events described and uses the available literature to enlarge on a personal view of that decade. Findings -The paper shows that the relationship was a strained one caused in part

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... a mismatch of resources, but is in any case dwarfed by the larger external forces and changing opportunities and technologies for scholarly communication. Originality/value -Provides a record of the period.