  Are the e-prints (electronic preprints) from the arXiv repository being used
instead of the journal articles? In this paper we show that the e-prints have
not undermined the usage of journal papers in the astrophysics community. As
soon as the journal article is published, the astronomical community prefers to
read the journal article and the use of e-prints through the NASA Astrophysics
Data System drops to zero. This suggests that the majority of astronomers have
access to institutional subscriptions and that they choose to read the journal
article when given the choice. Within the NASA Astrophysics Data System they
are given this choice, because the e-print and the journal article are treated
equally, since both are just one click away. In other words, the e-prints have
not undermined journal use in the astrophysics community and thus currently do
not pose a financial threat to the publishers. We present readership data for
the arXiv category "astro-ph" and the 4 core journals in astronomy
(Astrophysical Journal, Astronomical Journal, Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Society and Astronomy & Astrophysics). Furthermore, we show that
the half-life (the point where the use of an article drops to half the use of a
newly published article) for an e-print is shorter than for a journal paper.
  The ADS is funded by NASA Grant NNG06GG68G. arXiv receives funding from NSF
award #0404553
