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The development of electronic publishing heralds a new period in scientific communications. Besides the obvious advantages of an almost endless storage and transport capacity, many new features come to the fore. As each technology finds its own expressions in the ways scientific communications take form, we analyse print on paper scientific articles in order to obtain the necessary ingredients for shaping a new model for electronic communications. A short historical overview shows that the typical form of the present‐day linear (essay‐type) scientific article is the result of a technological development over the centuries. The various characteristics of print on paper are discussed and the foreseeable changes to a more modular form of communication in an electronic environment are postulated. Subsequently we take the functions of the present‐day scientific article vis‐à‐vis the author and the reader as starting points. We then focus on the process of scientific information transfer and deal essentially with the information consumption by the reader. Different types of information, at present intermingled in the linear article, can be separated and stored in well‐defined, cognitive, textual modules. To serve the scientists better in finding their way through the information overload of today, we conclude that the electronic information transfer of the future will be, in essence, a transfer of well‐defined, cognitive information modules. In the last part of this article we outline the first steps towards a new heuristic model for such scientific information transfer.

The purpose of this research is to examine users preference and use of electronic journals in general, especially those published in a hosting system, Electronic Journal of the University of Malaya (EJUM)

The study utilized the survey method and employed an online questionnaire as the data collection instrument. A list of 330 users who registered with EJUM was selected and an e‐mail was sent to each with an invitation to complete the survey form linked to their mail. A total of 140 responses were returned, out of which 102 responses were usable.

The electronic journals are used for searching new information, reading full‐text articles, reading abstracts, and browsing the table of contents. Users are led to EJUM by chance while browsing the internet (41.8 per cent) when searching using Google, through citations obtained from conference papers, from articles or citations in databases. About 50 per cent of respondents rated the journals as “good” and 20.6 per cent rated “fair”. Respondents prefer keywords (28.9 per cent) and title (24.3 per cent) searches. The majority of respondents (70 per cent) prefer articles in PDF. The majority of respondents read the abstracts first to determine relevance before downloading the articles. Respondents believe that electronic journals will either co‐exist with print journals (46.2 per cent) or replace the print journals (25.5 per cent) or supplement (25.5 per cent) them. Users indicate the functions and features preferred in electronic journals.

A HTML indexing page is created to automatically harvest the meta labels from the contents pages of journal issues, which is captured by Googlebot of Google Scholar. This strategy improves accessibility as Google Scholar provides citation and publication counts for articles and authors. A quality matrix for an electronic journal system is presented

The study shows the extent to which e‐journals are used in Malaysia and provides a matrix of usability features which potential electronic journal publishers could consider.

By tracking the information‐seeking and reading patterns of science, technology, medical and social science faculty members from 1977 to the present, this paper seeks to examine how faculty members locate, obtain, read, and use scholarly articles and how this has changed with the widespread availability of electronic journals and journal alternatives.

Data were gathered using questionnaire surveys of university faculty and other researchers periodically since 1977. Many questions used the critical incident of the last article reading to allow analysis of the characteristics of readings in addition to characteristics of readers.

The paper finds that the average number of readings per year per science faculty member continues to increase, while the average time spent per reading is decreasing. Electronic articles now account for the majority of readings, though most readings are still printed on paper for final reading. Scientists report reading a higher proportion of older articles from a wider range of journal titles and more articles from library e‐collections. Articles are read for many purposes and readings are valuable to those purposes.

The paper draws on data collected in a consistent way over 30 years. It provides a unique look at how electronic journals and other developments have influenced changes in reading behavior over three decades. The use of critical incidence provides evidence of the value of reading in addition to reading patterns.

The present paper details research conducted into various aspects of author experience, attitudes and perceptions of publishing in paper and electronic journals. A sample of 1,040 authors in a variety of disciplines was identified as having published a journal article in the preceding year. A questionnaire was distributed to these authors and 537 usable replies were received. The questionnaire was analysed in terms of author experience in the paper and electronic domains, authors’ views on various aspects of electronic journals and their current skills. The results of the questionnaire suggest a small but increasing willingness to submit articles to electronic journals, but also suggest continuing concern about the permanence of such media. Almost a third of the sample felt that the addition of multimedia to their articles would be beneficial but few had the necessary skills to produce and incorporate multimedia objects. It is concluded that authors should be involved more in future research and debate in electronic serial publishing.

This article reviews the present and expected future environments for network‐based electronic publishing and network access to bibliographic and journal databases. Emerging visions of “electronic libraries” are considered. The difficulties inherent in the development of full text and images as networked information are outlined. The growth and diversification of library collections in electronic form and the requisite network access systems are discussed, as are the prospect of increased resource sharing among libraries and the subsequent explosion of document delivery requests (and costs!). The issues of storage and format of electronic publishing are developed, and perspectives on electronic publishing are presented for all those involved: the author, the library, the reader, and the publisher. A change in the scope, and thereby in the definition, of the library is anticipated.

In late 1997/early 1998, we conducted a survey dealing with library provision of electronic journals and other electronic resources. We compared the responses from a census of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) to a sample of non‐ARL Master’s, Doctoral, and Research institutions. Of the 299 libraries surveyed, 250 surveys were returned for a response rate of 83.6 percent. Analysis of the responses emphasizes the number and types of computers available in libraries, electronic resources in libraries, past and future cancellation decisions and archiving responsibilities. It was determined that both ARL and non‐ARL libraries offer extensive electronic services to their constituents. Libraries are beginning to cancel paper journals in favor of electronic versions. There is little consensus about who will archive electronic journals.

Electronic journals are an important alternative form of document delivery. Document delivery is performed by library networks and consortia, CD‐ROM suppliers, document delivery services, library suppliers and subscription agents, and electronic journal suppliers. This article reviews the general issues associated with electronic journals, and illustrates these with reference to the products and projects that are available in the UK. Subsequent to the early projects such as BLEND and Project Quartet, projects on electronic journals have been led by either publishers or consortia whose members include both major libraries and publishers. Among these projects are Ariel, EDDIS, EDIL, ADONIS, APPEAL and the UK Pilot Site Initiative. In order that electronic journals become an established option for document and information delivery, there are a number of questions that need to be answered from the perspectives both of libraries, and of the information industry. This article summarises some of these questions, and identifies some of the broader issues that will determine progress towards wide acceptance of electronic journals.

The purpose of this paper is to outline findings of a recent MSc study into electronic article provision in interlending and document supply presented to the Robert Gordon University in June 2007.

The paper is primarily based on data from questionnaires circulated to UK ILL departments (in academic, public, industrial, health and special libraries), recent users of ILL in a UK academic library and library managers within UK academic HE and public libraries.

Electronic document delivery was found to be used by half of libraries who responded: it was widespread in academic libraries, but seldom used in public libraries where demand for articles is comparatively low. Academic users appreciate the move to desktop delivery and the trend towards electronic delivery of articles in ILL is expected to grow in the future.

The paper is based on a survey data of libraries and users (in an academic environment) in the UK and Ireland. As such it provides a snapshot of the situation and represents the views of the participants at that time.

The user survey shows that, in an academic context, users welcome the move to desktop delivery.

This paper provides a snapshot of the prevalence of, and attitudes to, electronic article delivery within the UK and Ireland.

Where electronic journals will go in the immediate future depends on their relative advantages and disadvantages as seen by four participating groups ‐ authors, publishers, librarians and readers. Current developments are of crucial importance for deciding how speedily electronic journals will be introduced and accepted. Though the picture is changing rapidly, implementing electronic journals still holds problems for all four groups. Basic questions ‐ for example, of financial viability, or of long‐term storage ‐ still need to be resolved. These are not likely to be solved for all electronic journals in the same way. Some pointers to the future are becoming discernable, but it is still too early to see in detail how the transition from printed to electronic journals will develop.