All of us need people with the expertise to negotiate these issues, people that we may not have previously counted on. Like material goods, human resources come at a price. There are more options. Because of these options, the roles of publishers, agents and libraries sometimes seem indistinguishable. It's possible to conduct an instant search across a wide range of content.
Electronic publications take up less physical space and so are easier to store.
Time from publication to availability can be significantly shorter. But a number of new challenges have arisen. Finding ways to continue to print specialized journals with limited circulations is critical for publishers, as well. If I subscribe electronically, what happens when my subscription is cancelled. And on and on.