Report of the ACRL Task Force on Electronic Publishing: Introduction

Abstract

In the Fall 1995, the ACRL Publications Committee established a task force to look at the status of electronic publications within ACRL. The charge to the ACRL Task Force on Electronic Publishing read as follows: To investigate current electronic publishing activity in ACRL; to identify for the Publications Committee the pertinent issues of policy and practice in this area; and make whatever recommendations the Task Force deems fitting.

The Task Force was chaired by Ann Schaffner of Brandeis University; Hugh Thompson from ACRL and Norma Kobzina from U.C. Berkeley assisted in the preparation of the report. After several drafts, which were looked at by the Publications Committee and the various ACRL Editorial Boards as well as Section and Committee Chairs, the final report was approved at the Annual Meeting in July 1996. Since STS is actively involved in electronic publishing (and ISTL is our first electronic effort), it seemed appropriate to publish the report in its entirety. The following is a brief summary of the major issues and recommendations.