The Method Behind the Madness: Acquiring Online Journals and a Solution to Provide Access.

Libraries are seeking the best possible solution for integrating online journals into their collections. While exploring the different methods and technology available, many libraries still strive to fulfill the original "library mission" proposed by Charles Cutter in his Rules for a Dictionary Catalog. Providing comprehensive access to scholarly journals and individual journal articles becomes increasingly difficult with the advent of journal subscription vendors, general and subject-specific databases, and even journal management software and services aimed at helping libraries manage journal changes and the representation of their holdings to patrons in their public catalogs. Although libraries have found it necessary and desirable to acquire a wide range of journal databases and services, many anticipate that advancements in technology and cooperative efforts among the many institutions and interests involved will eventually allow easier and widespread cross-data- base searching for resource discovery and the type of patron access to journal literature that is desired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]