E-Journal Management in Academic Libraries with Special Reference to INDEST Consortia in India

Abstract

In the Academic and research libraries, the long-term preservation and management of digital collections is the most important issue. In certain ways, digital materials are incredibly fragile, dependent for their continued utility upon technologies that undergo rapid and continual change. Keeping and managing the e-journal resources accessible for use by future generations will require conscious effort and continual investment. No library is self sufficient to purchase all the books, Journals and other library documents with in their library budget. So customers belonging to different academic institutions or university may purchase e-journals and sharing its cost through consortia. This paper explains the terms and definitions of Electronic Journals (e-journals), followed by the aims and objectives of the e-journal purchase and management. Also the issues in archiving and preserving the back issues of the e-journals, the initiatives taken in archiving them and the role of e-journal agents in purchasing and managing them are discussed. The purchase and management of e-journals through Consortia and the various consortium efforts taken in India with special reference to INDEST consortia also have been explained in this paper.