Electronic publishing in libraries: introduction
| Date | 01 March 1999 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000004556 |
| Pages | 8-9 |
| Published date | 01 March 1999 |
| Author | Diane K. Kovacs |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Problems and advantages confront libraries in the
increasing availability of electronic format publi-
cations delivered through the Internet as well as
other kinds of electronic delivery mechanism.
The impact of electronic publishing
(e-publishing) on library collections, services
and administration is complex. There are no
simple solutions to the problems of managing
the collection, archiving and access to
e-publications, as well as including them in
library services. There are, however, many good
usable solutions that libraries can learn from
each other. No one needs to re-create the wheel
to cope with e-publications.
Problems in managing e-publications for
libraries and their users include:
• Providing access that matches the technolog-
ical capabilities of both library and user.
• Providing access that satisfies the profit
motive of commercial e-publishers.
• Collection development planning that
requires knowledge of the electronic delivery
mechanisms, as well as the subject content of
e-publications.
• Archiving e-publications in ways that avoid
problems with electronic media degradation.
Some of the advantages to libraries and their
users in solving these problems and using the
solutions in providing library services are:
• Access is increased for more patrons to more
publications than individual libraries can
acquire and store.
• Collection development and cooperative
collecting are simplified because libraries can
share central storage and retrieval facilities.
• Preservation is made easier because of the
relative ease of duplication and archiving of
electronic publications.
• There are wonderful opportunities also for
libraries to do their own e-publishing through
the Internet services such as e-mail and
World Wide Web.
This special theme issue contains articles that
address many of the solutions for managing
aspects of e-publications in libraries, including
selection, collection and archiving. Other
articles address methods and strategies for
libraries producing e-publications themselves.
This issue includes articles written from histori-
cal, philosophical and empirical perspectives, as
well as detailed descriptions of actual imple-
mentations of e-publication management sys-
tems and e-publishing in libraries.
8
Electronic publishing in
libraries: introduction
The guest editor
Diane K. Kovacs is President of Kovacs Consulting,
Brunswick, Ohio, and is the Editor-in-chief of the
Directory of
Scholarly and Professional Conferences
.
E-mail: diane@kovacs.com
Keywords
Electronic publishing, Libraries
Abstract
The impact of electronic publishing (e-publishing) on library
collections, services and administration is complex. There are
no simple solutions to the problems of managing the collec-
tion, archiving and access to e-publications as well as
including them in library services. There are, however, many
good usable solutions that libraries can learn from each
other. No one needs to recreate the wheel to cope with e-
publications. Many librarians feel that the technology to
solve the problems and take advantage of e-publishing is
either currently available or clearly under development. How
the advent and increasing presence of e-publications will
impact the people who will read them may ultimately be of
more importance than what we will do with the machines,
the storage media or the delivery mechanism. Therefore,
emphasis in this special theme issue is more on the human-
interaction aspects of e-publishing rather than on the tech-
nology or delivery mechanisms.
Library Hi Tech
Volume 17 · Number 1 · 1999 · pp. 8–9
© MCB University Press · ISSN 0737-8831
Diane K. Kovacs
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