THE TRAINING OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION STAFF IN THE HANDLING OF ONLINE ELECTRONIC JOURNALS

Most online electronic journals have hitherto been made available with out an explicit charge and typically have been accessed directly by re aders, The rapidly growing commitment of commercial publishers to prod ucing online journals involves the payment of substantial subscription s and is likely to emphasise the role of the library as an intermediar y between publishers and readers for electronic journals. The present study reports on the establishment of an experimental electronic journ al for training purposes, and the initial use made of it, and of two c ommercial electronic journals, by library and information students at Loughborough University and the City University, London, There appear to be few problems in terms of handling contents, but considerably gre ater difficulties in terms of navigating through electronic journals a nd using their capabilities. The implication of these results for the training of library and information staff is discussed briefly.