ELECTRONIC VS PRINT PUBLICATION: STRADDLING THE GREAT DIVIDE

Despite the decades it took for electronic distribution of journals to become fairly common, it is clear that the world is still not ready for the change. Most economic models are still in the experimental stage, and library budgets in most parts of the world are unprepared. Tying the electronic and print versions together in the subscription price means that there is not a market-place test for the value of the older form; separating them can also present problems. Heavily subsidized scientists are attempting to legislate a new and yet untried economic model for all science journals. Developing countries not only have difficulties paying for electronic subscriptions but may not have the infrastructure to use them. Many abstracting and indexing services are mired in the print world when it comes to the content of their databases and unable to cope with the exigencies of electronic journal publication. Seemingly simple questions have different answers depending on the journal: for example, what constitutes publication; is there a consistent way to cite an article before and after print; what is the official version; is the dynamic material an integral part of the article or not. Protecting the integrity of the published record is a challenge-- not to speak of the problems that archiving has in store. Another of the great uncertainties of the change to electronics is the battle between proprietary and open standards. Will all of the investment that has been made to provide articles in pdf be lost with future generations of Adobe; how will the PC and Mac battles play out and what will that mean to the ability or the cost of serving the entire scientific community.