PWILLETT@BINGVAXC.BITNET (01/17/90)
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Congratulations to the editors of PACS-L Review for their first
issue. I think this effort, besides publishing valuable articles, will
provide a model for electronic publishing of journals for the future.
It seems like a regular journal, with an editorial board and a regular
publishing schedule (I hope). However, the medium is very different than
print, and raises a series of questions for libraries and librarians,
especially since many of us believe that electronic publishing is the
hope of the future:
--Should a library consider this a regular journal, and, as such, provide
the regular access through cataloging?
--Should a library provide access to the journal itself? If so, how?
Should a library have the files available on some kind of local
list server, or print copies of the files for the periodical shelves,
or simply keep track of the listserver address for these journals,
and provide access upon request. As these kind of journals proliferate,
we would need an electronic acquisitions librarian to keep track of
addresses. If we rely on the remote list servers to store these
journals, how long will they keep them?
--Will the articles be indexed anywhere like, say, Library Literature
or LISA? Certainly, as word spreads of this journal, and the articles
are read by others, the articles will be cited in other journals.
These problems will become very real in the near future as other electronic
journals are formed. It is fortunate that PACS-L has provided an example
of how it can be done, and a forum for discussing the implications for
libraries.
Perry Willett
SUNY-Binghamton
PWILLETT@BINGVAXC