To measure the value of print journals, librarians have gathered a range of statistics and developed a variety of metrics. Similar work to assess the value of e-journals has just begun. This article explores the usefulness of available e-journal usage statistics and develops three metrics and three benchmarks based on those metrics. The proposed metrics build on earlier work that assesses the value of print journals, although the earlier work is modified extensively to fit the e-journal arena. The e-journal statistics and metrics are further transformed to address a completely new area of application: the evaluation of potential purchases. Statistics and metrics are used to build three benchmark measures for assessing e-journal candidates for purchase. A comparison of Science and Nature site licenses illustrates the utility of the assessment benchmarks. The benchmarks, metrics, and statistics developed here provide a reliable framework for assessing both current collections and candidate collections of e-journals. Implications for standards development are clear; content measures are desperately needed for the development of an effective suite of e-journal statistics.

While electronic publications offer opportunities to enhance collections and services, they unfortunately raise significant issues with regard to the duplication of investment, conversion from ownership to licensing of primary source materials, and concerns with long-term access to information. Acquiring these resources demands substantial amounts of staff time in selection, acquisition, cataloging, and management. This article describes the development and creation of a genre statement for a subset of electronic resources that the University of Maryland Libraries have termed "electronic publications." Issues covered include the factors that created a need for the genre statement, the process followed to develop it and the issues contained in the genre statement. The development of a genre statement provided us with an opportunity to assess emerging problems and a chance to codify and disseminate developing best practices. Its completion marks the first step in a process to create a coherent program for the evaluation and selection of electronic publications.