The electronic preprint's impact on document delivery

Electronic pre-prints (e-prints) of journal articles and conference papers are becoming an increasingly important communication tool among scientists in physics, astronomy and mathematics. The acceptance of the e-print in these fields is beginning to reach into other disciplines as well. Can e-prints provide an alternative to costly and time-consuming document delivery and interlibrary loan services? Consider the following: 1) E-prints consist of the full text and/or images of manuscripts that will soon, or have already, appeared in print; 2) E-prints are accessible by anyone with an Internet connection, are cost-free, and have no institutional or geographical barriers; 3) Electronic indexing and abstracting (A&I) services are making e-prints more accessible than ever before. While acknowledging pre-prints are by nature preliminary publications, tie not yet peer-reviewed) a pre-print will often suffice depending on the reputation of the authors and/or the immediate need of the users. This paper documents the growth in number and availability of e-prints. It also discusses the implicit acceptance of the e-print by publishers of scientific literature as well as some of the abstracting and indexing (A&I) services. Grassroot efforts to build e-print servers that expand the scope and coverage of the literature are also addressed.