ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION IN THE HOT ZONE 3, REPUBLIC OF MESHNOON IN THE YEAR 2013

What a pity we didn't see the extent to which we were all unduly influenced by the hype put out by the more ‘commercially committed’ elements of the computer and information industry. Now, I know that the electronic revolution in the 1990s has brought many advantages to librarianship and I have in mind the tremendous strides taken with regard to journal publishing in particular. The provision of journals over the Net did introduce a radical degree of flexibility that has been appreciated by both libraries and readers alike. Nothing new there: however the mechanisms which were subsequently developed that allow readers to read, browse or scan an article — as well as being able to call up any references that look useful — are positive attributes. Publishing articles directly on the Internet when they are ready rather than waiting for a quarterly issue to be circulated is also welcome, although it took longer for this method of presenting academic material to be implemented by the major publishers than I would have expected. I thought it would have been available in the early 1990s.