ABSTRACT
Large corporations such as McGraw-Hill, who have pioneered the new electronic formats, are able to glide right into this new environment. Even they have had their troubles in figuring out what works, and what does not work, in commercial terms. Smaller publishers, such as Transaction, cannot possibly compete with the wide range of services available in non-paper document delivery services–whether on disk or film or by telephonic devices. In solving this dilemma, it is important to recognize that the key to modern publishing is not the product, but the property. That is to say, the smaller publisher, when signing a contract for book or journal publication, includes all so-called subsidiary rights. Because publishers are small, this is hardly a reason not to be involved in the big issues. Document delivery in a plethora of ways has to be seen as process that cannot be wished out of existence, nor is it one that people can hope will trip.
