ABSTRACT
The drive for electronic journals on the Internet in the sciences has at least as much to do with the perceived deficiencies of the current system of print journals as with any certain advantages of the new technology. (It also has a lot to do with an industry-wide instinct that somehow, if one player in the journal game seems to be taking a leap into electronic publishing, then all the rest feel compelled to take theirs too.) While many of the disadvantages of print journals occur to some degree in any subject field, they seem increasingly acute in the sciences. Journals are the archetypal medium for information exchange in the sciences and journal articles are the predominant denomination of science faculty-career-building currency. The complaints of publishers, library subscribers, authors, and readers concerning the current system are sometimes similar and mutually reinforcing, and, at other times, a matter of sharp disagreement. Some causes for complaint in the cycle of print serials in the sciences have remained well-grounded or worsened over the last decade, 22while others have been substantially diminished, and have minimal continuing validity. A review of the players in the scientific information process, their take on the current cost factors in the print journal economy, and the possibilities for benefit by moving to electronic delivery of journal content via the web portion of the Internet seems warranted. This is particularly true given that print is going to be around for a long time yet.
