Electronic journals: some recent projects

Abstract

The paper describes three recent electronic journal projects with which the author has been involved. The first, Project ELVYN, was a collaborative project with the Institute of Physics Publishing and involved the di­stribution of an electronic version of a journal to eight library test sites. These libraries then made the journal available to individual readers via the local area network. The second project, Cafe Jus, looked at electronic journal use with two groups of readers: taught postgraduate students, and staff and research students. The postgraduate students were seen in groups and were given a structured question­naire to complete after interacting with an electronic journal. The staff and re­search students were asked to complete access logs each time they used an electronic journal as part of their work. The third project, SuperJournal, involved approximately 20 publishers and 13 li­brary test sites. Clusters of journals in the subjects of Communication and Cultural Studies; Molecular Genetics and Proteins; Political Science; and Materials Chemis­try were made available and their use studied over a three year period. The findings of the three projects are discussed and conclusions drawn regar­ding the future of electronic journals.