Librarians are concerned with how they will acquire the material needed by faculty and students and how they will pay. In the immediate future there is likely to be a mix of print and electronic publications. It is difficult to foresee the disappearance of print. The initial intent of journal publishing was communication. Now print is used to authenticate and document the work of scientists and engineers.
Electronic publishing is problematic in documenting original work.
While scientists exchange preprints online, they need the imprimatur of a publisher to establish authenticity and certification. While scientists in rapidly growing fields need immediacy, others need history. They need access to older works. This need for access raises the issue of archiving in the electronic world. Retention in electronic form may be the most expensive because changes in storage technology will require constant shifting and refreshing.