Adoption of Internet technology by UK postgraduate centres: a questionnaire survey

A survey of UK postgraduate centres during September 1997 found that almost 60% were connected to the Internet, but librarians were still the largest user group, few had more than one access point and support to users was limited. Significant progress was made during the following 18 months--by April 1999 all but one of the remaining sites had Internet access in either the postgraduate centre or in a separate library. Lack of funds and decisive policy were stated to be the most common reasons for delay in connecting. The Internet was rated highly as source of the latest research information and support for evidence-based medicine and continuing education. Expansion of the role of librarians to include assistance with sophisticated searches seemed a logical move to the majority, yet the survey suggests that a significant investment in time and money will be required to support the use of the Internet in continuing medical education in the broadest sense. It is likely that the traditional boundaries between IT departments, libraries and user groups will need to be redrawn if the technology is to be exploited effectively.