Re: Electronic archiving

[Fred Friend <ucylfjf@ucl.ac.uk>]

This is an excellent contribution from Peter Boyce. I agree with all the
points he makes. As he admits, his subject area has a "head start" on
these issues, but the issues he raises will affect all subject areas in
due course. I would like to see these issues discussed at a conference.
Fred Friend

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At 19:01 08/10/98 EDT, you wrote:
>Pardon me if I chime in here to add some thoughts based upon our
>experience in astronomy.
>
>The electronic versions of all dual-version journals are diverging rapidly
>from the paper version. In astronomy we have color plates on the Web and
>B&W in print -- for cost reasons, since authors pay the color costs.  We
>have video clips, we have machine readable data tables which do not even
>appear in print any more, and the list is growing.  What with the
>hyperlinks to references and citations which provide immediacy to the
>information web, of which the journal is just a part, archiving in paper
>is not adequate, even now.  The trend to electronic-only features is
>accelerating. In another year, saving the paper will not be considered by
>anyone to be an adequate archival strategy, even as a backup. Let's give
>up talking about this now.
>
>Don't take this wrong, but libraries can physically not maintain an
>electronic archive for all their journals. An electronic journal is not a
>collection of individual articles any more.  It is a whole complex system
>of files, software, and protocols -- which are different for each
>publisher.  One year of our Astrophysical Journal comprises about 60
>GBytes in over 250,000 files, and a multitude of scripts and programs, all
>of which are needed to have the journal function correctly and completely.

[SNIP]

>Dr. Peter B. Boyce, Chercheur Associe, 
>Centre Donnees de astronomique de Strasbourg, France
>               --  boyce@cdsxb6.u-strasbg.fr
>             
>and Senior Consultant for Electronic Publishing              
>American Astronomical Society
>              --   pboyce@aas.org    --  http:www.aas.org/~pboyce