Reviewing an issue of ALS now is quite a different matter. The editor, Julieanne Lamond, wrote in early 2016: ‘In taking ALS online, we are doing quite belatedly what many journals have already done.’ They are ‘taking extreme liberties with the definition of a journal issue’. When a couple of articles, or a themed special issue, are ready, they are published online and are available free for at least a month. Thereafter, only those who pay the modest annual subscription (or whose library has subscribed) have access to all 1,000-odd articles from the journal’s fifty-three-year history. ALS can now do things that websites do well, like creating ‘spotlight’ topics and searching across past issues, although the browsing reader can still get lost in a virtual dead end, or stuck in a loop.

And the content? The latest issue, Volume 32.1, has just two articles: Ann-Marie Priest on Gwen Harwood; and Peter Mathews on Tim Winton. They are both readable, well-researched and scholarly. 31.6 is an impressive special issue with a dozen substantial articles on Christina Stead. There is ample proof that the move online has had no adverse effect on editorial standards.

Australian Literary Studies is available online: www.australianliterarystudies.com.au