Search results

Where electronic journals will go in the immediate future depends on their relative advantages and disadvantages as seen by four participating groups ‐ authors, publishers, librarians and readers. Current developments are of crucial importance for deciding how speedily electronic journals will be introduced and accepted. Though the picture is changing rapidly, implementing electronic journals still holds problems for all four groups. Basic questions ‐ for example, of financial viability, or of long‐term storage ‐ still need to be resolved. These are not likely to be solved for all electronic journals in the same way. Some pointers to the future are becoming discernable, but it is still too early to see in detail how the transition from printed to electronic journals will develop.

The purpose of this paper is to explore issues around access and use of subscription electronic journals by African researchers and seeks to bring to the fore the issues academics and researchers face in accessing electronic databases.

Donor-funded electronic resources have greatly improved access to essential scientific scholarly information by researchers in developing countries. Yet in Sub-Saharan Africa, researchers and libraries still complain about lack of access to scientific information, and libraries are reported to be struggling to maintain up-to-date scientific information resources. An online survey of academics at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zimbabwe was carried out.

Results indicated that academics rely on approaches other than library facilities to locate electronic information. Google was the most common approach used in locating subscription electronic journals. Furthermore, there was a need for increased awareness of subscription and donated resources. Programmes such as Research4Life, journal schemes by Education Information for Libraries and the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications have made an impact on academics’ access to electronic journals. The study established that there was no direct link between access to electronic journals and increased publications.

Work of this kind has not been done in Africa before. The exploration of the complexities inherent in providing access to electronic journals in a developing country presents an opportunity for both librarians and developmental partners to reflect on the challenges as well as the opportunities that exist in current electronic journal access schemes.

Librarians and information workers obviously are interested in electronic journals as a means of providing information to their customers. At the same time, members of the profession are becoming increasingly interested in accessing electronic journals that relate to their own specialist concerns. Looks at well‐established specialist library and information titles which are currently available online. Compares the nature and content of these electronic journals with those of major library and information journals available in printed form. This gives rise to the query whether current differences between printed and electronic journals in terms of content and approach are likely to continue in the future.

This article is based on a study undertaken for an MSc dissertation looking at the impact of electronic journals on the relationship between acquisitions, inter‐library loans and journals departments in academic libraries. The study shows that, although electronic journals may be affecting departments in libraries, other factors may be present, e.g. budget cuts, staffing levels, etc. At present, it is still too early to judge the full impact of electronic journals on library services.

The introduction of electronic journals and electronic versions of journals has made serials collection management more complex. Libraries may want to offer a particular journal in both print and electronic formats, but find that it is often not financially feasible. More publishers are charging separately for the print or electronic versions or charging a higher price for both bundled together. As budgets become tight, librarians are having to choose between one format or another. In order to make the decision about what format to purchase, librarians need to know the format preferences of the users. To determine these preferences, library professionals can use several methods, such as user surveys, usage reports, and educated guessing.

Reflecting upon the short history and fast development of electronic journals, there is no doubt that electronic journals open up many exciting service opportunities for academic libraries. This technology possesses both advantages and disadvantages. Some advantages include multimedia capabilities, speed of production and distribution, and accessibility. Disadvantages posed are technological, sociocultural, and economic barriers. As a literature review, this article begins with a brief historical background of electronic journals. It then delineates the positive and negative aspects of the technology and reviews the crucial issues and trends concerning electronic journals, which librarians need both to be aware of and understand. Some practical implications that are unique to academic libraries are also discussed. Although it is relatively new territory, it is certain that librarians’ analytical abilities and cooperative efforts to examine and balance the factors can make electronic journals a success in academic libraries.

This paper aims to describe the use of electronic resources and services provided at the central library of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. The paper is focused to know who these electronic information services users are, how often they use the services and the place where the information is accessed. Also, the users are asked to give their preferences between an electronic and print journal format.

The questionnaire method is used for collecting the data from the users (i.e. undergraduate, postgraduate, research scholar and faculty), categories‐wise.

It has been found that usage of e‐journals is increasing; this is due to awareness among the users about the library e‐resources and services. Owing to an easy access available at various places in the institute, users are accessing these resources at hostels and departments more as compared to the library. The users coming to library have decreased.

The present paper will help other institutes understand the need for library electronic resources, and motivate them to update their resources in the larger interest of the students, faculty and research scholars. The paper also indicates how a suitably designed survey can show the awareness and use of types of information services, in this case e‐journals. There is a dearth of such studies in India and the methodology and findings can be applied to other libraries to reveal similar trends as well as comparisons.

Reports the results of a continuous study of access issues related to electronic journals currently distributed via the Taiwan Academic Network (TANet). Data are reported on the accessibility of electronic journals, the status of electronic journal archives, the subject coverage, the indexing and abstracting services, and the various data formats used by electronic journals. The findings illustrate the practical issues that can arise when users attempt to retrieve the texts of electronic journals. The implications for academic and research libraries are also considered.

Electronic journals are an important alternative form of document delivery. Document delivery is performed by library networks and consortia, CD‐ROM suppliers, document delivery services, library suppliers and subscription agents, and electronic journal suppliers. This article reviews the general issues associated with electronic journals, and illustrates these with reference to the products and projects that are available in the UK. Subsequent to the early projects such as BLEND and Project Quartet, projects on electronic journals have been led by either publishers or consortia whose members include both major libraries and publishers. Among these projects are Ariel, EDDIS, EDIL, ADONIS, APPEAL and the UK Pilot Site Initiative. In order that electronic journals become an established option for document and information delivery, there are a number of questions that need to be answered from the perspectives both of libraries, and of the information industry. This article summarises some of these questions, and identifies some of the broader issues that will determine progress towards wide acceptance of electronic journals.