PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of e‐journals on university libraries in terms of resources, staffing, space, technical services and equipment.Design/methodology/approachA well‐structured questionnaire was designed to collect the data for the present study. A thorough survey of the literature was done to examine the findings of the earlier relevant studies.FindingsThe results of the survey provide useful information regarding the impact of e‐journals on subscription to e‐journals, infrastructure, staff, space, technical services, photocopying, inter‐library loan, library use and reference services.Originality/valueThe study will have important implications for information creators, publishers, libraries, scholars and researchers. It evaluates the impact of e‐journals on libraries and points out the directions that e‐journals will take in the future.