Electronic Resources: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing?

Abstract

This article examines the impact of electronic technology on libraries and scholarship. It focuses on some of the challenges of using electronic resources in research libraries, which include the cost of acquiring electronic formats and the effect that such expenditures have on other library services and collection development practices. The article also explores how electronic resources have changed the way students and scholars conduct research. The goal of this essay is not to criticize or condemn electronic formats but, rather, to illustrate that electronic technology is simply one tool, among others, for the dissemination of information. As such, electronic resources should complement rather than replace other formats.