Critical Look at E-Publishing and Librarianship

Notes on a Critical and Skeptical Overview of Electronic Publishing and Librarianship from the United States is a 1997 article by John Buschman in the Journal of Information, Law and Technology. The Abstract Follows:

Notes on a Critical and Skeptical Overview of Electronic Publishing and Librarianship from the United States is a 1997 article by John Buschman in the Journal of Information, Law and Technology. The Abstract Follows:


Electronic publishing presents the most fundamental challenges to the practices and values of librarianship. The United States is perhaps the best case study to highlight and review the issues raised by electronic publishing in libraries. It is the country which has invested both broadly and deeply in electronic resources, both generally and in libraries. It is also the country which has promoted – through both the public and private sectors – the idea and the image of an information revolution. In short, libraries and electronic publishing are seen to have the same future in the United States. In this environment, problematic issues are not generally raised or actively discussed by library professionals. A brief, critical review of those issues concerning electronically-published products includes:


– Preservation. Libraries traditionally collect and preserve the scholarly and documentary record of publishing. Electronically-published materials require a new approach to preservation, access, and security.


– Economic Issues. Library budgets are not swelling, yet information outlets – and the demand for those products – are. Price and fee structures of electronically-published works are different for libraries. The end result of differing collecting patterns and the imposition of fees-for-use have broad consequences for equity of access and the skewing of content in libraries.


– Inherent Characteristics of Print. Electronically-published texts are intellectually different than printed resources, and those differences critically affect how people approach and value knowledge and information, how libraries organize it, and how it is packaged and promoted.


The paper concludes with recommendations for librarianship in approaching these resources.