Managing Electronic Journals — the Ideal World Versus Reality
| Date | 01 March 2000 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb040766 |
| Published date | 01 March 2000 |
| Pages | 61-68 |
| Author | Sally Brock |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Managing Electronic
Journals - the Ideal
World Versus Reality
by Sally Brock, Information Adviser
(Electronic Services) and Andrew Cox,
Senior Researcher, LITC, South Bank
University
Over the past year South Bank University has
seen a huge growth in its access to electronic
journals, with the number of titles increasing
from around 800 to over 2300, which far
exceeds the number of journals held in print
format.
Other universities are following a similar
pattern and as a consequence most are
experiencing problems. Fundamentally, the
ideal world of electronic journals is very
different from reality and this article discusses
some of these issues.
An ideal world
There is a growing consensus of what librarians
would like in an ideal electronic journal world:
Easy access
This is the most important aspect of electronic
journals for end users. The recent SuperJournal1
project documented what was already known
informally - that new users give up very quickly
when confronted with problems.
• It must be easy for the user to use the
system. Increasingly users are accessing
electronic journals outside of
the
physical
library, so there is not a librarian on hand to
offer help.
• The system must be reliable. Sites that
inexplicably 'go down' frustrate users.
• The system must be fast. Users give up if it
takes too long to navigate screens.
• Users need an easy logon procedure. In an
ideal world this would be one logon, which
would also allow access from anywhere,
whether on or off-campus.
Choice of formats
Users should be offered a choice of different
viewing/downloading formats, with the two below
as the minimum:
• PDF (Portable Document Format) allows
users to view articles as they would in print.
VINE
120—61
To continue reading
Request your trial