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.