ABSTRACT
In a literature search for articles dealing with cataloging electronic journals, the author found that early concerns focused on the question: should the library catalog include bibliographic records for electronic journals and other online resources or is there a better way to provide information and access? OPACs (Online Public Access Catalogs) already had been widely adopted in libraries, but many of them were not Web-based and did not have the software to enable direct access to the online resource. Some libraries mounted lists of electronic journals and other resources and provided “hot links” on their own Web pages, thus providing direct access for their patrons and, in effect, bypassing the catalog. Users could locate and access electronic material on the Web site; however a researcher wishing to conduct a thorough search of all formats would need to perform a second search in the online catalog.
