eJournal Hosts: The Next Generation

摘要

Thanks to the Web, we've gone from an era of print books and journals to the idea that "If it's not online, it doesn't exist." Who can ignore users' expectations for desktop access to much of the world's most important literature? The need to address rising user expectations, continual technological developments, and powerful new standards means every econtent provider in the library market can gain insights directed to journal publishers. While most scientific, technical, and medical (STM) publishers make their work available online, the majority of journal publishers do not. In keeping with the 80/20 rule, the largest, publishers that went electronic in the first wave are now also converting their journal backfiles and bringing them online. The second wave consists of mid-sized and smaller publishers-mostly in the social sciences and humanities-that are seeking cost effective solutions for managing journals on their Web site or delivering their content to libraries. Yet for better or worse, publishers selecting a service provider today have many options and capabilities at their disposal that weren't available during the first generation. Because of the rapidly changing landscape, publishers should reassess their ejournal delivery method to evaluate new opportunities every two to three years.