Electronic publishing in science

This paper describes the planning by ICSU Press and UNESCO leading to a Conference of Experts on Electronic Publishing in Science held in Paris in February 1996. The origin of the conference arose from a resolution at the 1993 General Assembly of the International Council of Scientific Unions. The experiences and views of expert scientists, librarians, publishers and information brokers are summarized together with their recommendation formulated by working groups and approved by the 150 invited participants drawn from 34 countries worldwide. In conclusion, an attempt is made to show the relevance of these deliberations to the aims of the 1996 workshop on Converging Computing Methodologies in Astronomy.