[In 1994 the Publications Committee developed the following plan for electronic publishing. Some steps were underway at that time; some have subsequently been completed; most are still being worked on. This plan establishes the framework that will be used for projects related to delivery of one or more publications. Although there have been some modifications to the details, the four goals are still relevant. Specific action steps that were a part of this plan when it was drafted have been omitted for the current distribution. 1998 AGU, the plan adopted by Council in 1995, sets priorities for individual projects that will be the priorities in the next few years. These projects are an outgrowth of the following plan.]

I. MISSION FOR ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING

The mission statement for AGU's electronic publishing program is:
 
To use advances in communications, networking, and other relevant computer technology (1) to enhance the value of and access to AGU's publications for individual scientists today and in the future and (2) to assure AGU can continue to serve researchers' need for information either directly or through libraries and other organizations acting as intermediaries.

II. PURPOSES FOR ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING

Throughout this plan it is understood that the primary goals of AGU's publishing program with respect to quality, timeliness, service to individuals, breadth and economics will remain in place. The basic premises on which AGU's publishing program is built will not change as a result of the opportunities and challenges presented by advanced technology.

AGU's purposes for electronic publishing include:

1. To improve the timeliness, economy and usefulness of traditional print publications by employing electronic techniques judiciously throughout the publishing and distribution process.
2. To make AGU's publications a more attractive place for authors to submit outstanding work, particularly by improving the ease of submission and publication, the timeliness of publication, and the utility of AGU's vehicles for communicating information.
3. To make the information within individual articles more accessible and valuable by providing the means for readers to interact with and extend what was contained in someone else's paper in ways that are impossible or impractical in other media.
4. To improve an individual researcher's ability to find and retrieve relevant items from the scientific literature.
5. To enhance an individual's ability to have personal copies of publications or personal access to individual articles and full publications particularly in light of shrinking shelf space for journals.

There are many things that can be done or contemplated with the new technologies. The above mentioned purposes will be used to test the worthiness of specific projects considered by AGU.

III. STRATEGIES

The strategies AGU expects to follow are outlined in the document "AGU Directions in Electronic Publishing," which was presented to the Council in May 1993 by the Publications Committee. That document defines the environment in which AGU expects to be developing its electronic publishing program.

IV. GOALS FOR ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING

AGU has three long-term goals derived from the strategy presented to the Council in May 1993. These goals will guide the directions that are taken in electronic publication. During the time frame of the 1996 AGU Plan, projects and experiments will be conducted to move the Union forward toward these goals.

Goal A

All material published by AGU is archived in an electronic format that can be migrated upward as new media and technologies become available; AGU is regularly disseminating publications in electronic formats.

To meet this goal the following objectives must be achieved.

1. The electronic files of all material commercially typeset for AGU will be archived in a way that permits them to be reused for future products.
   We believe that this means commercially typeset material must be tagged and stored in SGML format.
   
   Major problems to be dealt with in reaching this goal include: (1) how to format multi-line equations for storage and dissemination; (2) how to handle tabular material so that the numeric values can be used as such; (3) how to store the data behind the figures. The last two points are also tied to Goal B.
2. All black & white and color figures in AGU publications will be stored in digital format that will reproduce the image as it appeared in the printed version and that can be migrated to other media and technologies. Ultimately, the moving images that are now handled as videotape supplements to papers will also be stored in a standard format that will permit their migration to other media.
3. AGU will regularly be receiving from authors electronic files that meet AGU-specified standards for electronic submission and will be archiving these files in a way that permits them to be reused for future products.

1. Develop a business plan that determines how AGU will move forward with dual print and electronic distribution of journals. This plan will define both technologic and financial aspects. In the area of finances, attention will be given to different pricing models for different types of journals and different user groups.
   On the basis of this business plan, specific plans and objectives will be developed for each journal.
2. Decide on a limited set of formats for experimentation in electronic dissemination and determine the best search and retrieval mechanisms for each. This decision will also be tied to the objectives of Goal B.
3. Make electronically submitted meeting abstracts available online and provide the meeting program in electronic format that allows the user to create a customized program. Target date: July 1994.
4. Publish the 1991-1994 Quadrennial Report in fully electronic format and in a companion print product for distribution at the General Assembly and for sale.
   This experiment has the following learning objectives:

   To test procedures for dual distribution in print and digital format.
   To test formats for submission and manipulation of electronic files from authors.
   To test how users react to fully electronic products that had previously been heavily used in paper.
   To test online delivery mechanisms for files containing text, figures, and specially marked bibliographies.
   

5. Establish an appropriate mechanism for regularly disseminating in electronic format the time-sensitive material published in Eos.
6. Develop and test a mechanism for individuals to have electronic access to individual articles.

This step ties to Goal C.

Goal B

AGU offers value-enhanced services for electronically disseminated materials, such as access to the data underlying figures, manipulatable mathematical expressions, links to external data bases, and three-dimensional or moving representations of data. (These types of services are sometimes referred to as "hot material.")

Since little has been done by others in this area, AGU may need to take on some pioneering efforts. Small experiments will need to be defined and conducted in order to determine the best course of action. It is more difficult to set specific objectives in this area than it is for Goal A. Some of the steps that will be undertaken during the period of this plan include:

1. Introduce policies and procedures for regularly publishing supplementary material in electronic format. For large data sets AGU will work with existing National and World Data Centers and simply provide pointers to the data.
2. Select the most appropriate standards for AGU to adopt in the early phases of this work. In doing so it must be understood that AGU must develop means for staying alert to new standards that may be more effective for its purposes.
3. Conduct a few well-documented experiments with "hot material" that will test formatting, archiving and dissemination.
4. Develop and implement a proposal for a fully electronic journal that concentrates on disseminating "hot material" as one of its goals.

Goal C

AGU provides individual scientists with enhanced access to the geophysical science literature through electronic tools like specialized abstracting and indexing services that may be linked to mechanisms for obtaining the materials identified.

Work on this goal will improve access to printed products and later to items that can be delivered in electronic format. Some of the steps that will be undertaken to realize Goal C include:

1. Extend EASI (AGU's bibliographic database) to cover 1988-1993 for release in January 1994. Introduce monthly electronic updates on a subscription basis. Maintain EASI on Kosmos as a current online database.
2. Develop for sale EASI-type database products based on AGU meeting and the bibliographies in the Quadrennial Report.
3. Develop a mechanism that links the online bibliographic database of AGU publications to an order system for printed separates.
4. Determine the feasibility of establishing a personalized information service based on a member-specified profile that will provide an alerting service and that can be linked to document delivery service (first in print and later electronically) for AGU articles.

Goal D

Members can customize the package(s) of information they obtain from AGU.

One of the most valuable aspects of electronic delivery will be the ability to select and acquire those pieces of information of greatest relevance to the individual. In the best information system members should be able to select items across journals. This is particularly important to AGU members because of the interdisciplinary nature of the geophysical sciences.

1. Define one or more scenarios for a customized/personalized information system. These might include online ordering for delivery in printed or electronic format, printing "on demand" at licensed centers, and/or retrieving directly from an electronic file maintained by AGU.
2. Determine how the revenue stream would be altered depending of the type of customized system and decide on the optimum scenario(s) for further development.
3. Determine what type of hardware and software must be purchased or developed to accomplish distribution according to the scenario(s) selected for further development.
4. Explore and if feasible implement access centers for delivery of information on demand. These access centers are envisioned to be extensions for current libraries, although commercial information providers might also be considered.
5. Develop a marketing system that assures a continuation and growth of the revenue stream and that increases the users of AGU-published information.