New Edition of ARL Internet Journal Directory Ann Okerson 18 May 1995 13:08 UTC
[This is being cross-posted to several lists.] Association of Research Libraries PRESS RELEASE May 18, 1995 Ann Okerson (ann@cni.org) ARL 5TH EDITION OF DIRECTORY OF ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE The Association of Research Libraries announces publication of the 5th Edition of the hard-copy standard reference work for serials on the Internet: the Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters, and Academic Discussion Lists. The extraordinary rate of expansion of microcomputers and linked networks as vehicles for scholarly exchange, along with growth in the rate of the use of the Internet, does not abate. The number of journals, newsletters, and serial-like academic publications continues to increase daily and scholarly communication expands in exciting new ways. Many journals, newsletters, and scholarly lists may be accessed free of charge through Internet and affiliated networks, along with those that are increasingly available via paid online subscription. Nonetheless, it is not always simple to find what is available. The new edition of the Directory is a compilation of entries for nearly 2500 scholarly lists and 675 electronic journals, newsletters, and related titles such as newsletter-digests -- an increase in size of over 40% since the 4th edition of April 1994 and 4.5 times since the 1st edition of July 1991. The Directory provides instructions for electronic access to each publication. The objective is to assist the user in finding relevant publications and connecting to them quickly, even if he or she is not completely versed in the full range of user-access systems. Diane Kovacs of the Kent State University Libraries continues to head the KSU team of individuals who collaboratively created the 5th edition's scholarly discussion lists and interest groups section. Principal compiler of the journals and newsletters section is Lisabeth A. King, Research Assistant for the ARL Office of Scientific & Academic Publishing, with support from Dru Mogge, Electronic Services Coordinator. Ann Okerson of the ARL/OSAP is overall project coordinator for the printed directory. The printed directory points to the widely available Kovacs files as the free-of-charge Internet sources for the discussion lists section. ARL made an abridged gopher version available in summer of 1994 and plans to create a World Wide Web directory in the summer of 1995. The 5th Edition is produced in 8.5 x 11 paperbound format in 770 pages. Scholarly lists are grouped by broad subject areas, and journals and newsletters are in alphabetical order. A substantial index of keywords, titles, and institutional affiliations is provided. As in the previous four years, frontmatter of value to electronic serial readers is included. Again, a scholarly article on electronic scholarly publications leads, followed by works commissioned for the ARL book. The article is Paul Ginsparg's (Los Alamos National Laboratories) detailed description of the widely High Energy Physics preprints server and the concepts behind it, revised and reprinted from a 1994 article in Computers in Physics. For the second year, Birdie MacLennan of the University of Vermont has prepared a listing and assessment of sites for electronic serials that are maintained by various organizations on the Internet. Charles Bailey of the University of Houston Libraries and Editor in Chief of a notable Internet journal, The PACS Review, has included a detailed bibliography on electronic publishing. Included again is Steve Outing's listing of newspapers available on the Internet, a thriving project he began in 1994 and continues to maintain and expand. The Association of Research Libraries is a not-for-profit organization representing 119 research libraries in the United States and Canada. Its mission is to identify and influence forces affecting the future of research libraries in the process of scholarly communication. ------------------------------------------------------------------ ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCH LIBRARIES Office of Scientific & Academic Publishing 21 Dupont Circle, NW Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 202-296-2296 202-872-0884 (fax) 5th EDITION, 1994: $62.00 (All purchasers) $41.00 (Only to the 119 LIBRARIES that are members of the ARL) ALL ORDERS ADD Postage/shipping/handling *PER COPY* U.S.A. $ 5.00 Canada $ 6.00 ORDERS SHOULD BE PREPAID BY CHECK, MONEY ORDER, MASTERCARD OR VISA.