PRELCLIB.RVW   980313

"The Electronic Library", Learned Information, 1983 -, ISSN 0265-0473,
UK#95-105/yr
%A   Learned Information
%C   Woodside, Hinksey Hill, Oxford   OX1 5BE  UK
%D   1983 -
%E   David Raitt draitt@estec.esa.nl
%G   ISSN 0265-0473
%I   Knight-Ridder Information
%O   UK#95-105/yr +44-1865-388000 fax: +44-1865-736354 
%O   www.learned.co.uk tel@learned.co.uk
%P   85 p. monthly
%T   "The Electronic Library"

The masthead motto of the journal states that it is "for the
applications of technology in information environments."  Many who
work in the information technology field may think that this covers an
awful lot of ground.  More specifically, it appears to concentrate on
the use of technology and automation as used by, and appropriate to,
various types of libraries.  In addition, each issue has a focus: the
three reviewed dealt with the library of the future, library
automation, and library networking.  (Three issues were submitted for
review, February, June, and August of 1997, numbers 1, 3, and 4 of
volume 15.)  This is a formal periodical, with academic, and
apparently refereed, articles.

Each issue includes news of library systems, installations, CD-ROMs,
and other matters, and may also contain a section of brief items
related to the topic of the edition.  There are features, articles,
and interviews.  Subjects in the volume submitted included e-journals,
a survey of bibliographic systems, Web searching, features of specific
online systems, distance education, and email privacy.  There are
always book reviews, and may or may not be hardware and software
reviews, which are distanced from the books.  There is an ongoing
listing of sites on the Web and a section called "The Information
Society" that carries news of government and public technology policy. 
An extensive calendar of coming events is included, along with calls
for papers for upcoming conferences.

The lack of stylistic consistency between pieces is a bit confusing. 
"Features" are apparently either done in-house or cribbed from
institutional sources: they may have "contacts" but no authors. 
Articles have authors, and so are presumably submitted from outside
the magazine, but may or may not contain various levels of
biographical information on the authors.  Abstracts at the beginning
of articles may or may not be identified as such, and may or may not
be in italic type.  Features may or may not come before articles and
reviews may or may not come after.

The quality of the articles varies, although the best are quite good. 
Book reviews seem to be quite dated considering the intended audience.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998   PRELCLIB.RVW   980313