Purpose: The paper seeks to record the work of the committee and its interaction with the much better known Electronic Libraries (eLib) Programme. It also examines the principles that underlay the development of content acquisition and supporting infrastructure in UK university libraries in the 1990s. Design/methodology/approach: A historical account of the development of nationally organised e-services for higher education in the 1990s, based on personal recollection, committee minutes and contemporary reports. Findings: Confirms the continuing relevance of principles established in that period. Originality/value: Provides a record of previously undocumented work.