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For a smooth transition to a future with a yet unknown system
of ep-archive it is absolutely necessary to keep the present system
of journals running as is, but transferring it to use the electronic advantages.
The tasks here are :
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The publisher would have to put all journal's articles on its server,
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tools for the online retrieval of a desired subset of papers, their
easy transmission, levels of access rights, screening of the use of the
services, user's surfaces and local storing and handling means
have to be developed, this needs testing, adapting and
developing the respective software,
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financial agreements have to be set with the Universities individually
or even with departments of Physics of the Publishers to open the
access of its readers to all manuscripts of all journals of the Publisher,
howver only electronically.
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This has to be paralelled by an encouraging
of user's orders for printing on demand of an article or a bunch or articles
of specific use for that reader or a certain subset of readers
(say 'Theory of atomic and molecular clusters', to name a field.
These printed services are of course more expensive than the
present journal volumes, but because of their high specificity
the reader will pay a higher price.
Apparently, a task force of a publisher with some departments of Physics
in different countries as embedded in the discussion boosted by the
Societies, and in conjunction with a software house or group could
do a very valuable experiment. For interested parties the author would like
to act catalytically.