Reply received Monday, 27th January:
I find Mr Rowland's article both timely and relevant, as I have lately been assuring my colleagues 'In 10 years there will be no scientific journals, only Web sites.'
The matter of archive integrity is interesting. If Mr Rowland's bridge engineer got his information from a paper containing errors, perhaps known to the author but awaiting publication, would he not prefer a web site which can be updated and corrected in response to new data?
The practical question for libraries is: how much larger will our buildings need to become, say in 50 years, if we do not move to a new system of publication?
Charlie Hulme Library Systems Manager John Rylands University Library, Manchester charlie.hulme@man.ac.uk
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