In the past, the VD 17 as a reliable bibliographic reference tool with interdisciplinary acceptance was integrated into the web portals of various disciplines. After the end of the associated projects, these secondary uses largely disappeared. Currently, the most important external search entry point is the Karlsruhe Virtual Catalogue (KVK). The VD17 data are also integrated into the Universal Short Title Catalogue (USTC). For research of current data it is nevertheless recommended to use the original database. There are plans to merge VD 16, 17 and 18 into a special search portal for the retrospective German national bibliography.