Publishing companies and University presses recognize both the promise and threat of electronic publication, and have begun to open their shops on the internet. In order to retain their privileged and costly positions at the centre of the scholarly communication universe, the traditional publishers try to find a way to exploit internet technologies to their fullest extent. Electronic publishing is not a linear extension of print. When you transpose a novel to the film medium this will generate effects that go well beyond the simple translation of a text into images. When you move text from print to a digitized medium this will transform its functionalities, the way we relate to it, and the way it is distributed and received.
Print offers only one way to present information.
Whether the reader is browsing or studying deeply, printed texts remain wedded to paper. With digitized documents, the reader moves from browsing mode, often on the screen, to deep reading, often through a printout of the document. In other words, electronic publishing brings about a distinction between the access to information and the way readers relate to it. Electronic texts can be produced at extremely low costs, can be distributed at a very high speed, and can be easily accessed through search tools and database functions. Academics can distribute their own material much more effectively than the traditional publishing houses.