This book is the second edition of the popular 1996 title "Electronic Publishing and Libraries: Planning for the Impact and Growth to 2003," which is an essential update arising from the need for scholarly information dissemination in this area due to the rapid pace of change.

There are two noticeable improvements to this edition compared to the last one. Firstly, the organization of the material is separated into groups involved in the electronic publishing industry, making it easier for users to find relevant information. Secondly, the book is now larger in size allowing it to present the detailed diagrams more clearly. Like the previous edition, the title still aims to quantify the future size of the electronic publishing industry and provides practical data to support investment decisions in information systems for electronic media and serves as an aid to forward planning. Plus, all the sources of the original book are revisited and updated.