Agents in Place: Intermediaries in E-Journal Management

Introduction According to recent estimates, 75% of all currently published scholarly journals are now available online. The remaining 25% are expected to follow shortly [1,2], driven by user demand and the estimated 16% additional margin that accrues to publishers on electronic-only titles [3]. The rapid growth in popularity and availability of e-journals has left libraries struggling to adapt to the new demands imposed by this new form. MIT Libraries, for instance, estimated at the end of FY 2002 that “33% of its total serial dollars were devoted to e-resources”, and that 87% of its new serial dollars went to electronic content [4]. Given this remarkable shift, library procedures, business relationships, systems, and staffing all require re-thinking and re-invention, a process that will continue into the foreseeable future, as e-journals and the services that support their acquisition and access evolve.