recent trends and developments in electronic ...

RECENT TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES AND KNOWLEDGE CENTRES IN INDIA

C. Velmurugan Librarian Department of Central Library Rajalakshmi Institute of Technology Kuthambakkam, Chennai –600 124, India Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT This paper emphasizes on Electronic publishing in academic libraries and knowledge centres in India. It includes the wide range of e publishing types like Email publishing, Print-on on-demand, E-books, E-journals, Electronic ink, Web publishing, Digital content etc. This paper presents the concepts and explanations on the contents of Electronic publishing and also describes the main objectives, types and models of electronic publishing. It has encouraged more and more self publication through individual web sites, through institutional information providers, and through subject oriented preprint servers. Finally, this paper highlights the recent trends and developments of electronic publishing on academic and knowledge centres in India. Keywords: Electronic Publishing, web publishing, digital content, E-Publishing, Electronic ink, ICT, academic libraries, knowledge centres, India. INTRODUCTION Information and Communication technology (ICT) is gradually replacing the old methods of information collection, storage and retrieval since in the age of information explosion. Library System in academic and knowledge centres is a major benefit group of ICT. Libraries have traditionally played a key role in providing access to and disseminating information across the society. That role has now been extended to facilitating access to innovative technologies. Through Internet, a teacher know how to share his knowledge with peers in the subject, a researcher can collect information on his area of study from anywhere in the world and a learner can clarify his doubts which may not be possible in This paper is published in Information Professionals: Issues and Challenges in Digital Age, edited by Monawwer Eqbal , Pragun Publications, New Delhi, 584 -592 , ISBN: 9380397139.

the classroom. Educational institutions in under-developed countries are able to access the newest information available in developed countries over Internet without delay. This technology has also changed and transformed the process of publishing and distribution of information. Electronic publishing has become a foundation for the new and innovative information society to search out the right information to the right person at the right time. BACKGROUND The word electronic publishing (e-publishing) introduced by William Dijkhuis in 1977. The very first e publication came in 1980s in the form of plain text emails. They were sent to the subscriber via a mailing list. Later CD-ROMs appeared to be a much more effective and successful medium for epublishing that excellent quality, pictures, figures, low-cost support, and long life. This kind of publication was rather successful for a number of years and for particular publications like encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, and handbooks are still in use. In the years 1994–95 appeared the very first e-journals. Web distribution started in 1995– 96 and was an instant success. It was possible to use the rich format PDF, Portable Data Format, to embed links in the text and to start to use multimedia tools. Now epublications are already prepared for downloading into PDAs, Personal Digital Assistants; it is a sort of e-book device already present in our pockets for other uses. WHAT IS E- PUBLISHING?

E- Publishing – or Electronic Publishing – is a more recent way in which books, short stories, collections and works of non-fiction can be distributed via the Internet and computers in general. The term- electronic publishing is also known as e-publishing, digital publishing, desk top publishing, online publishing, web publishing for topical searches. Electronic publishing offers an innovative range of opportunities to improve the scientific information chain, of which wide and apparently free dissemination via internet. It has encouraged more and more self publication through individual web sites, through institutional information providers, and through subject oriented preprint servers. Electronic publishing is increasingly popular in works of fiction as well as with scientific articles. Electronic Publishing can be represented as a digital formElectronic Publishing = Web Technology + Computer + Communication Technology.

This paper is published in Information Professionals: Issues and Challenges in Digital Age, edited by Monawwer Eqbal , Pragun Publications, New Delhi, 584 -592 , ISBN: 9380397139.

DEFINITION Electronic publishing as “the application by publishers of a computer aided process, by which they find, capture, shape, store and update information content in order to disseminate it to a chosen audience” - Kist (1989) ‘‘E-publishing refers more precisely to the storage and retrieval of information through electronic communications media. It can employ a variety of formats and technologies, some already in widespread use by businesses and general consumers and others still being developed’’. - Electronic encyclopedia ‘‘Electronic publishing or ePublishing includes the digital publication of e-books and electronic articles, and the development of digital libraries and catalogues. Electronic publishing has become common in scientific publishing where it has been argued that peer-reviewed paper scientific journals are in the process of being replaced by electronic publishing’’. -

Wikipedia

KINDS OF E-PUBLISHING Electronic publishing is broadly defined print material produced in digital form. Material is produced electronically can be classified into two general categories one is communication and second is information management. E-mail is a means of sending message which is called as communication and store housing knowledge or resources on CD-ROMs and websites which is known as Information management. SALIENT FEATURES OF ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING 1. Electronic information is easy to get to to all users in all locations. 2. Electronic publishing generate information available rapidly to the entire users to their own desktops, therefore obtaining the electronic information much faster than print versions. 3. Electronic dissemination is very speedy evident and research views and results are to be disseminated faster and cheaper. 4. Electronic publishing is not restricted to a single users or any particular location. 5. Searching and browsing are a common attribute of electronic publishing.


6. Electronic journal articles are easy to use and easy to reach on particular articles by following step by step procedure. E- PUBLISHING MODELS There are three different models for e-publishing: traditional, alternative, and subversive. All the most important publishers like Elsevier, Springer, Kluwer, IOP, APS, etc. use the traditional model. Publishers like HighWire, the European Journal of Comparative Law, JHEP Journal of High Energy Physics, etc. use the alternative model. The subversive model is used by other publishing initiatives like arXiv (earlier at Los Alamos National Laboratories, now at Cornell University), Australian Journal of Human Rights, the European Legal Research Archive, etc. E- PUBLISHING TYPES E- Publishing types are divided in to nine categories. There are: Electronic Books (EBooks), Electronic Periodicals, Electronic Database, Electronic Publishing on CD-ROM, Print-on-Demand (POD), Digital Content, Electronic Ink, Email Publishing and Web Publishing. E- Books (E-Books) The book is quiet popular document to meet the academic needs of user community. Publishing a book electronically is to achieve quick publishing and dissemination of information. Electronic versions of books which are delivered to patrons in digital formats are called E-book. E-book devices are developed to read e-books. E-book devices are a larger form of PDAs with extended reading features. E book contents can be delivered in various forms: via internet, CD-ROM etc. b) E- Periodicals Electronic Periodicals includes online journals or electronic journals, Electronic newsletters, electronic magazines, and discussion lists. They are accessible to all users despite of geographic location. Everyone in the world with services and the suitable computer software and browser services can access online journals. c) E- Database The online database is called Electronic Database. The online electronic library card catalog i.e. Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) explains how information can be published and that facilitate user to search the document with various aspects like author, title, subjects. A variety of electronic databases publishers nowadays comprise publishing information both bibliographic and full text on CD-ROMs in addition to making them This paper is published in Information Professionals: Issues and Challenges in Digital Age, edited by Monawwer Eqbal , Pragun Publications, New Delhi, 584 -592 , ISBN: 9380397139.

available for online retrieval. The well-known online publishers such as DIALOG, BRS, and EBSCO host etc. d) E- Publishing on CD-ROM CD-ROM has offered new element for information storage and retrieval. Publishing information mainly abstracting sources are quiet common in CD-ROM. Even though a lot of works on e-journals delivery via the Internet, it has some work on CD-ROM too. The advantages of CD-Rom are: much more materials can be included, both in terms of quantity and type. Full text searching is relatively easy to include. e) Print-on-Demand (POD) Print-on-Demand is an innovative technique for printing books. This method helps free publishers from the process of doing a traditional print run of several thousand books at a time. POD is very hot right now; in a sense, it is a good intermediary step between the regular method of printing paper books and electronic books. However, POD is still a method that uses paper and can not be delivered as cheaply and quickly as electronic books. f) Digital Content Digital content refers to the electronic delivery of fiction that is shorter than book-length, nonfiction, and other in print works of shorter length. Technology used for delivering digital content includes Adobe PDF, XML, HDML, WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) and other technologies. g) E- Ink Electronic Ink is used to generate a newspaper or book that updates itself and this content can be programmed to change at any time. Electronic Ink is a developing technology that could encompass a huge impact on the media and publishing industries. h) Email Publishing Email publishing or newsletter publishing, is a well-liked choice between readers who enjoy the ease of receiving news items, articles and short newsletters in their email box. The ease of delivery and production of email newsletters has led to the development of a massive number of available email newsletters, mailing lists and discussion lists on a great variety of topics and themes.


i) Web Publishing Web publishing is not a new practice to any further extent, but it continues to change and develop with the introduction of new programming languages. HTML is the most broadly used web programming language, but XML is also making development. XML is valuable because it allows publishers to create content and data that is portable to other devices. ADVANTAGES There are advantages and disadvantages to e-publishing over traditional printed books. • Improved access: Ready access to information through electronic search engines. • Public peer review: Linking readers’ comments, authors’ responses and evaluations. • Faster dissemination of scientific information by expediting entire publishing and management processes (submission; communication between authors, reviewers and editors; production process, including layout and galley proof). • Hypertext and hypermedia links: Linking to other electronic information. • Innovative use of multimedia: To present research findings and other forms of data and information using sound, movies and simulation. • More efficient dissemination of research findings: Services such as abstract alert, advanced notification of publications, and matching articles of interest with readers’ profiles. • Enhanced discourse: Enables expanded and facilitated scientific discourse about research, online letters to the editor and discussions. DISADVANTAGES • Readers who have to access the journal over a modem may be hindered by the slow acquisition of large image or movie files. • Electronic journals and articles are considered as non-permanent, perishable citations that could change their URLs or disappear from cyberspace. • Readers without laptops do not have access to articles on the go, e.g. on a commuter train.


E-PUBLISHING BENEFITS The benefits of e-publishing offered over the network or web are positive for readers, authors, and publishers. The major benefits are: It is easier and greater access, quicker delivery, for readers. It is reduced paper processing, shelving, re-shelving, binding, storing, risk of damage and losses for libraries. It is enlarged audience, simplified editorial tasks for publishers. NOTABLE E- PUBLISHING JOURNALS URLS Research content is freely available in electronic form, which is achieved by creating new journals whose content is freely available, or by encouraging publishers to make their content freely available. Examples of open access resources/organizations are SPARC, Public Library of Science, PubMed Central, HighWire Press, BioMed Central and Open Access Initiatives. e- publishing journals e- journals URLs SPARC www.arl.org/sparc/ Public Library of Science www.plos.org/ PubMed Central www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/ HighWire Press highwire.stanford.edu BioMed Central www.biomedcentral.com/ Table-1. Notable e- publishing journals URLs FUTURE PUBLISHING It is quite difficult to predict the future direction of electronic publishing as it is evolving rapidly in tandem with advances in electronic and internet technology. An indication of the future publishing scenery has revealed the following points: • Greater exploitation and utilization of multimedia capabilities. • Various publishing models co-exist and continue evolving. • Publishers are changing their traditional roles in becoming electronic service providers. • Institutional depositories will be strengthened and become more popular. • Researchers and authors are becoming major stake- holders in publishing. • Peer review is here to stay while attempts are being made to improve the system. • Copyright issues continue to be debated. CONCLUSION The internet and advances in information technology will have an impact on the research landscape, scholarly publishing, research policy and funding, dissemination of This paper is published in Information Professionals: Issues and Challenges in Digital Age, edited by Monawwer Eqbal , Pragun Publications, New Delhi, 584 -592 , ISBN: 9380397139.

knowledge, and the progress of science as a whole. Electronic publishing has the means to make the information immediately available to scientists and possibility for online access over the Internet. Electronic publishing obviously save the reproduction cost and distribution cost. In this changing scenario, Electronic Publishing provides a number of benefits not only to the librarian but also to the facilitators, instructors, gatekeepers of knowledge interpreters, evaluators, consultants, researchers, information managers, promoters, editors, content creators, publishes and archives. Therefore, the utilization of electronic publishing is rapidly growing within the technical community. REFERENCES NOTABLE E- PUBLISHING JOURNALS URLS 1. http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/5-18-2006-96484.asp 2. http://www.idemployee.id.tue.nl/g.w.m.rauterberg/publications/CITESEER2001o nline-nature.pdf 3. http://www.scribblepad.co.uk/advantages-epublishing.html 4. http://www.dsmsoft.com/images/epublishingbrochure.pdf 5. http://www.minersoc.org/pages/publications/MinSoc-E-publishing-policy.pdf 6. http://www.escholarlypub.com/sepb/archive/18/sepb.pdf 7. www.eprints.org\self-fag. 8. http://www.idpf.org/ 9. Singapore Med J 2009; 50 (3) : 233 10. www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/boaifaq.htm. 11. www.doaj.org/. 12. www.soros.org/openaccess/. 13. www.eprints.org\self-fag. 14. Archana Saxena, Electronic Publishing: Impact of ICT on Academic Libraries, ICAL, Poster paper, pp670-672, 2009. 15. Pettenati, Corrado, Electronic Publishing at the end of 2001, World Scientific on December 4, 2001.
