Wednesday, December 26, 2007

E-only Tipping Point for Journals

Johnson, Richard K., and Judy Luther. The E-only Tipping Point for Journals: What's Ahead in the Print-to-Electronic Transition Zone Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries, 2007.(http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/Electronic_Transition.pdf). - Based on interviews with librarians at research libraries and representatives of various publishing industry sectors (excluding commercial publishers), a literature review, and their own extensive experience, the well-known authors of this report predict that the end is near for the print journal: "The role of the printed journal in the institutional marketplace faces a steep decline in the coming 5 to 10 years. Print journals will exist mainly to address specialized needs, users, or business opportunities. Financial imperatives will draw libraries first--and ultimately publishers also--toward a tipping point where it no longer makes sense to subscribe to or publish printed versions of most journals."
--Reprinted by permission from Current Cites 18(12) (December 2007)

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