E-journals: opportunities and challenges

1. E-journals: opportunities and challenges Bharati Banerjee

2. Valuable Resource • Electronic journals (e-journals) are valuable resources • They are largest and fastest growing segment of the digital collections • By simple definition, they are any journal or serial publication available in electronic format • This publication may or may not have a print counterpart

3. Advantages • It enables immediate access to articles • Articles can be searched by a phrase or keyword • In addition, it also saves shelf space • In retrospective search multiple files can be accessed simultaneously

4. Evaluation • The awareness of a new e-journal may originate from a reader’s request • Recommendation from a subject librarian • An advertisement on vendor's/publisher's web site • A message in a forum, or any other source

5. Selection • Selecting a print journal implies deciding to subscribe • It also means providing access to the selected resource • The selection process of e- journal implies dual participation : A. Subject specialists B. Electronic resource specialist

6. Pricing • E-journals are produced by different publishers just as print journals • These publishers can either be professional societies or commercial publishers such as Lexis-Nexis, Silver Platter • Publishers follow individual pricing policies • The publishers offer two tiered pricing: • One for institutional subscribers and librarians • Another for individuals • Special offers by some publishers for ‘Developing Countries’

7. Three Pricing Options • Print and online - Combines print subscription with site-wide online access to the title • Online only – This entitles the customer to receive site wide online access only • Print only – The customer receives a print copy of each issue of the title for the calendar year

8. Aggregated Pricing • An aggregator database is a collection of full-text journals published either by publishers, such as Elsevier ScienceDirect (SciD), Kluwer titles • Other option is through a third party provider, such as Proquest by ABN/Inform Global • Aggregator journals by vendors provide access to different publishers’ journals

9. License Agreement • When a library subscribes to an e-journal, it only licenses it; it does not own it • A license is a contract between the publisher and the library • Many e-journals have a simple online license agreement, which is agreed upon by the librarian • The main issues covered in licensing agreements relate to the access

10. Providing Access The access mechanism for e-journals consists of two key components: • user authentication and denial of access to non-subscribers • The procedure is termed as Internet Protocol (IP) authentication • The access is set up by the publisher to the license holding library • The access can also be restricted by password

11. 12. Staffing • The amazing growth of electronic journals and the large budgets pose biggest challenges for the library staff • The dealing staff needs proficiency in: • evaluating print subscriptions • negotiating prices of e-journals • arranging trials • evaluating package deals • negotiating agreements One major impact of electronic services is the growing need for user instruction

12. Archiving • In case of electronic journals, archiving is dispersed among many stakeholders • The major concern is that of electronic access • Because the publisher may cease to maintain access or • Libraries may cancel a subscription

13. Usage & Performance • In a networked environment, the ability to monitor usage is complex and time consuming • Most e-journals are accessible from servers maintained and controlled by publishers and the aggregators • For informed decision-making on performance and usage

14. Usage & Performance The libraries need • timely • reliable • comparable and • consistent statistics which can enable precise analysis.

15. Conclusion • The future for e-journals is full of change and challenge • While we can be enthusiastic about the advantages of this new format, we must also be aware of potential problems related to long term preservation and future accessibility • As for librarians, migrating to e-journals implies fundamental paradigm shift but at the same time holds out tremendous opportunities.