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E-journals: opportunities and challenges Bharati Banerjee 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 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 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 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 Pricing E-journals are produced by different publishers just as print journals These publishers can either be professional societies or commercial publishers such as LexisNexis, 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’ 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 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 License Agreement When a library subscribes to an ejournal, 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 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 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 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 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 Usage & Performance The libraries need timely reliable comparable and consistent statistics which can enable precise analysis. 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.