Due to the constant performance upgrades and regular price reductions of mobile devices in recent years, users are able to take advantage of the various devices to obtain digital content regardless of the limitations of time and place. The increasing use of e-books has stimulated new e-learning approaches. This research project developed an e-book…

Describes a survey of publishers and database producers that examined their activities regarding the retention and storage of electronic material, and access to that material. The discussion covers the archival life of various electronic media, standards relating to electronic publishing, and initiatives in electronic archiving. The questionnaires…

Identifies factors undermining library phenomenon of "ultrafiche" collection. Proposal of concept by Rand Corporation (1968), publication of two prototype collections (Library Resources Inc.'s "Library of American Civilization," and National Cash Register's "PCMI Library Collections"), and forces having adverse effect on viability and longevity of…

Provides a perspective on electronic publishing by distinguishing between "Newtonian" publishing and "quantum-mechanical" publishing. Highlights include media and publishing, works delivered through electronic media, electronic publishing and the printed word, management of intellectual property, and recent copyright-law issues…

Describes Drexon LaserCard (credit card size format holding two megabytes of digital data that can be recorded at factory or by information distributors) as a viable option to rotating optical media for distribution of computer software, technical manuals, periodicals, and other document applications, and projects its future in optical publishing.…

Two articles summarize qualities of medium being used in production of microforms: silver halide film, diazo film, and vesicular film. Highlights include policy of Law Library Microform Consortium, a nonprofit library cooperative and major supplier of legal materials on microfiche; archival storage and preservation; and recent recommendations.…

Explores the possibilities of using videodisc and optical disk technology as publishing media, highlighting the videodisc as an educational tool and visual supplement to online databases, digital database publishing on videodisc, optical disks for electronic document and image delivery systems, and costs associated with videodisc design and…

This essay discusses the advantages and limitations of several publishing media--monochrome microforms, online data transmission, and videodiscs. Points to be considered in making a marketable choice as to whether to reproduce material on microform or videodisc are noted. (EJS)

The market availability of optical storage technology will radically change the nature of information distribution, especially by reducing the high cost of mass data storage. The three general classes of optical storage are: (1) mass-produced read-only storage, (2) write-once storage, and (3) erasable optical storage. (CDD)

Identifies format-specific problems which depository and other government publications librarians frequently face as a result of the Government Printing Office's (GPO) micropublishing program. Program preparation and underpinnings, GPO microform storage in libraries, government publications librarians, and the independence of documents collections…

Scholarly publishers are experimenting with the "electronic monograph," a scholarly book offered on the Internet. Several converging trends (declining university subsidies, increasing research specialization, tightening library budgets) are putting pressure on academic publishing in the humanities and social sciences. Publishers are not convinced…

Discusses the national program for preservation microfilming in research libraries and suggests that microfilm is not the appropriate medium to be used. Recommendations for the electronic storage of materials on computerized databases are made; disadvantages of microfilm are described; interlibrary loan problems are discussed; and effects on…

Discusses a new vision of scientific publishing that is emerging in the Physics community; it is based on three fundamental elements: (1) a preprint server, (2) an electronic peer-reviewed, edited journal, and (3) an electronic archive of past published papers. Relates problems with libraries and the American Physical Society as electronic…

Reviews types of electronically and optically published media (EOPM) and their various delivery methods, briefly discussing their applications in the library. Highlights include the advantages and disadvantages of a library making use of EOPM and the impact of EOPM on different aspects of the librarian's world. Fourteen sources are given. (EJS)

This current overview of optical disk technology describes the evolving marketplace for optical products, the use of libraries as test sites for prototype CD-ROM (compact disk read-only-memory) products, CD-ROM developments, new optical technologies, and advances in magnetics. A list of some compact disk manufacturers and a glossary of terms are…