E-Terminology: Why Do I Need to Know What You Mean?

Introduction

Online periodicals create a daunting list of new challenges for librarians. Many of these issues are well known—such as archiving e-content, developing new workflows and procedures, and assisting readers to make the most efficient and creative use of this format. However, a particularly thorny issue receiving less attention is terminology—or the lack of a consistent vocabulary to explain how online periodical content is packaged and made available to libraries. Without consistent terminology the complexity dominates, and it is difficult to communicate within the profession or discern what—if anything—we tell our patrons about the "secret life" of electronic journals.

As electronic resource specialists at Yale University, we confront terminology questions almost daily. Imagine this hypothetical situation between an electronic resource specialist (ERS) and a front-line reference librarian (RL):

RL: I have a patron who cannot access the latest issue of Really Expensive Journal.

Now imagine a similar conversation between a front-line reference librarian (RL) who has diligently absorbed the distinguishing characteristics of the varied types of journal offerings and a confused reader (CR):

CR: Why aren't you getting Very Important Journal?

. You need to tell them to get their act together!

These dialogues should sound familiar to anyone who has dealt with electronic journals. Many front-line librarians do not deal with electronic resource issues on a daily basis, and the evolving terminology and concepts can be opaque. Even front-line librarians who do deal with electronic resources on a daily basis must interpret for the library's readers. As digital resources librarians, we live in a world of platforms, gateways, packages, and aggregations. Even so, we find ourselves stopping to clarify exactly what we mean when discussing various product categories.

We have concluded, perhaps not originally, that electronic journal offerings need a precise set of terms with carefully crafted definitions. If we can agree on this new terminology, librarians and perhaps even our patrons have a fair chance of understanding each other properly. To bring some order to this tangled landscape, we would like to propose the following terms for electronic journal offerings: full-text aggregation, journal aggregation, backfile aggregation, e-printer, publisher interface, and consolidator. Some of these terms are new, and others exist already but without the precision we are proposing. While we might have preferred existing terms in all cases, some words such as platform or gateway have already been used for a variety of concepts, and trying to force precision after the fact seems out of our reach.

Terminology

The term "aggregation" has unfortunately been used in multiple ways. However, the term is so pervasive—despite the imprecision of its use—it is difficult to conceive of replacing it. We have chosen, instead, to apply qualifying words for the purpose of concept precision.

Full-Text Aggregation—a product that consolidates citations and full text from multiple periodical publishers in a common search environment, with the publisher receiving a small royalty from leasing the content.

Discussion:

Full-text aggregations have a long history, predating the Web era and covering a large number of products. Most of the more established full-text aggregations began life as indexes to specific or multiple discipline areas. They evolved by adding full-text content from the publications they indexed and/or expanded with additional content as these services brokered new deals with publishers. Full-text aggregators generally pay low royalties to the publishers providing content. For publishers the advantages include additional income and/or visibility for their publications. Librarians are attracted to full-text aggregations because libraries can purchase large bundles of content with a single interface and access protocol at a fraction of the cost of purchasing each publication separately. The downside for librarians and patrons is that full-text aggregations provide only access without the other benefits conferred by a subscription. Many publishers protect their subscriber base by imposing content embargoes. An embargo is a defined period of time that can range from six to 24 months during which the most recently published material is withheld from accessibility through the full-text...