Database royalties now account for 20-40% of the direct costs of online literature search. A recent study suggests that such royalties may roughly double in real terms by 1985. The other direct costs of online searching - computing and tele communication charges - are expected to continue falling in real terms. But, because of higher royalties, total search ing costs may drop less than many commentators have hoped. Conversely, there may be some easing in the rate of price increases of printed abstracts journals.
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