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The ARL Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters, and Academic Discussion Lists covers an important period in the development of Internet publishing. Since 1991, each of the seven annual editions of the ARL Directory has offered a snapshot of the state of Internet publishing at that time. ARL researchers examine the characteristics of an e‐journal as they search for and profile new titles. Trends in format, distribution, and content are explored by reviewing the kinds of e‐serials that make up each edition of the ARL Directory.

Electronic mail (e‐mail) has become one of the most indispensable means of communication of our times. One of its applications is discussion lists. The paper looks at discussion lists in general and academic discussion lists in particular. It further highlights some very important directories of discussion lists, including both electronic and print versions, pertaining, but not limited, to academic and scholarly discussion lists.

The Internet has rapidly become one of the most powerful global sources of a wide range of information presenting many possibilities for librarians and information providers to seek information relating to their day‐to‐day activities, from buying books and serials to teaching information literacy skills. This paper delineates how libraries can benefit from the use of Internet resources to enhance the quality of their various services, at the same time saving both money and time. Some strategies for identifying valuable and relevant online resources are presented; and a number of most useful Internet tools and resources that are of great interest to librarians and information workers are discussed.

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 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 technology or delivery mechanisms.