Session J, Part 1, 10:30-11:30 am

The Librarian as Publisher: A Case Study of a World Wide Web Publishing Project

Mark Stover
Director of Library Services
Phillips Graduate Institute, North Hollywood, California

The World Wide Web has great potential as a publishing medium, both for original electronic publications as well as for mirrored (already in print) publications. Librarians, because of our experience as information providers, should not hesitate to become involved in Web publishing projects. This presentation will describe the evolutionary experience of a Web-based electronic journal, and will include a discussion of such issues as:

Why should librarians be involved in publishing on the Web?
How did a print journal re-invent itself as a value-added, Web- based electronic publication?
What are the copyright ramifications of Web publishing?
How and why does one "market" a Web publication? (or, If you build it, will they come?)
How should a Web journal be designed and organized?
How can electronic documents on the Web be turned into a searchable database?
Should we create hyperlinks between and among articles? If so, how many? Should the links be self-referential or external? What are the limits to changing the nature of an article by adding "hot links"?
What are some of the ways that librarians can bring scholarly information to the Web?

This presentation is designed for librarians who are interested in Web publishing but who aren't quite sure how to get started. It will deal with a broad range of legal, ethical, professional, and technical issues, but the primary focus of the presentation will be on the tremendous potential that exists for librarians who wish to add value to the World Wide Web through publishing and organizing scholarly information.