However, library subscriptions will continue to drop, prices will continue to increase, and the system will be showing more and more signs of stress. At the same time, electronic publications will be developing rapidly, and eventually they will become dominant, most likely between 2005 and 2015. In a state of flux, where all that is solid melts into air , it is hard to forecast the future, however some trends can be spotted and some recommendation can be put forward. Skepticism about its future is ill-placed. Media-richness and interactivity are the primary attributes which attract most users to electronic publishing.
Electronic publishing enables continued diversity of the publishing industry.
The key success factor lies in exploiting core skills from print publishing, such as community creation and targeting, quality content production, and expedient use of layout techniques. Electronic publishing allows for closer customer contact and the building of branded communities of interest. In electronic publishing the traditional revenue sources of subscriptions and advertising will be complemented by commissions. Without an appropriately targeted policy, Europe's competitiveness is endangered. The STM publishing field and derived indexing services were the first in the 70's to introduce commercial electronic services.