The preprint perplex in an electronic age

Abstract We describe the trends in preprint distribution and the types of servies available for access to preprints and preprint abstracts. We discuss development, maintenance, and access to bibliographic listings of preprints such as the RAP and STEPsheets, as well as more recent initiatives that offer full-text preprints via ftp or the World Wide Web. We also look at the merging of these developments in services such as the SLAC database and we discuss prospects, problems, and changes relating to an expected increase in both the electronic availability of preprints and the publication of journals in electronic forms. The focus of these considerations is the role of the astronomy librarian as an information provider in the electronic age.