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ARL Directory Highlights

Continued Increase in Electronic Publishing

The Association of Research Libraries is pleased to announce the availability of The Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters and Academic Discussion Lists, 6th Edition, the standard hard copy reference work for serials available via the Internet. This new edition of the Directory is a compilation of entries for over 3,000 academic and professional discussion lists and 1,688 electronic journals, newsletters, and newsletter-digests, representing a 257% increase in journals and a 26% increase in lists since the 1995 Edition. The Directory is a tool for assisting individuals in locating Internet resources as well as assisting librarians in building electronic collections.

Electronic publishing has gained unprecedented momentum since the Directory was first published in 1991. Summary analysis of the 6th Edition indicates that the number of peer-reviewed titles are increasing. The majority of journals and newsletters continue to be available for free, although this edition indicates a slight increase in fee-based titles over last year. In the 1996 Edition, 168, or 10% of the titles, are available on a fee basis only.

The Directory is organized to assist the user in finding relevant publications and discussion groups and connecting to them quickly, even if he or she is not completely versed in the full range of user-access systems. A short description of each title in the Directory is included as well as access information. A URL is provided for over 90% of the journal and newsletter titles. Included also are ISSN, costs, first issues, peer review, frequency, back issues, and submissions. For the discussion lists section, entries include moderator contact information, and indicate whether the lists are edited and archived. A combined index for the two sections includes keyword, title, and institutional affiliation.

Diane Kovacs, Kovacs Consulting, and The Directory Team created again this year the academic and professional discussion lists section, while Dru Mogge and the ARL Directory staff compiled the journals and newsletters section. The introduction to the Directory is by Ann Okerson, Yale University.

Each year, ARL chooses a particularly relevant or noteworthy article on electronic scholarly publishing for inclusion in the Directory; the 6th Edition article of the year is a paper by Steve Hitchcock, Leslie Carr, and Wendy Hall of the Multimedia Research Group at the University of Southampton. "A survey of STM online journals 1990-95: the calm before the storm" is a comprehensive review of online, full-text, peer reviewed, English language journals in the areas of science, technology, and medicine. An evaluative description is available for each journal cited, including features such as delivery mechanisms, presentation formats, and charging practices.

The Association of Research Libraries is a not-for-profit membership organization comprising 120 libraries of North American research institutions. Its mission is to shape and influence forces affecting the future of research libraries in the process of scholarly communication. ARL programs and services promote equitable access to and effective use of recorded knowledge in support of teaching, research, scholarship, and community service. The Association articulates the concerns of research libraries and their institutions, forges coalitions, influences information policy development, and supports innovation and improvement in research library operations. ARL operates as a forum for the exchange of ideas and as an agent for collective action.

ARL Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters and Academic Discussion Lists. 6th ed.
Dru W. Mogge, editor. 1996. 1,136 pp. ISSN 1057-1337. US $79.00 ($55 ARL members).

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