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Re: Shelving current serial issues separately ? (2 messages) Marcia Tuttle 07 Mar 2002 14:00 UTC

----------(1)
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 16:15:32 -0500
From: Lori Thornton <lthornton@cn.edu>
Subject: Re: Shelving current serial issues separately ? (Debbie Holme)

I personally think it would be a great disconvenience to completely
dismantle the current shelving.  There are some titles which would receive
almost no use if they were not displayed.  There's been a lot of talk of
how to make libraries more appealing to patrons and current browsing
shelves for at least your popular or more recreational titles is one way
that libraries have of making a more patron-friendly environment.  We do
not display all titles here at Carson-Newman, but we do display things
like American Heritage, New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated,
Travel+Leisure, Education Digest, Variety, etc.  I can see this area from
my office and know it received heavy use from both our students and
faculty.  I'd hate to lose that area, and I know that our users would hate
it as well.

Lori Thornton, Asst. Prof.
Technology & Serials Librarian
Carson-Newman College
Jefferson City  TN  37760
lthornton@cn.edu

----------(2)
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 16:19:11 -0500
From: "Heath, Janet P" <HEATHJ@MAIL.ECU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Shelving current serial issues separately ? (Debbie Holme)

Debbie:
   We started out doing that, filing the current issues with their bound
conterparts.  I think it makes a lot of sense, unfortunately, we had more
than a couple of faculty members to complain.  They couldn't go to the
current periodical area and browse like they had done in the past and it
was taking them longer to find the titles.  So we had to come up with an
alternative solution.  Now its half of the first idea and half of the old
way.  We scrounged up space for just the most recent single issue of every
current title we take, then the rest of the current issues are shelved
with their bound conterparts.  Its not the most ideal solution (you do
have several places to look for the same title) but so far it seems to be
working out OK.

-
Janet P. Heath
Serials Coordinator
Health Sciences Library
East Carolina University
600 Moye Blvd.
Greenville, NC  27834-4354

Phone   252-816-2234
FAX       252-816-3369
e-mail:  heathj@mail.ecu.edu

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 15:13:47 -0500
From: Debbie Holme <dholme@ZOI.LIB.UWO.CA>
Subject: Shelving current serial issues separately ?

Hi Serial list group

    Please reply to the list...

    I have worked in a large academic library for 20+ years and the
current issues have always been shelved separately from the bound volumes.

    We are mid transition in canceling our print journal subscriptions and
going to electronic access. At the present time, we have canceled
approximately 1000 titles. The remaining 2000 subscriptions are shelved
flat on open shelves. We anticipate a high student enrollment in the next
year, and have been mandated by our administration to find more student
study space in the library.

    At the same time reference staff indicate students are having trouble
understanding where they should look for journals. Current receipts,
recent issues, and bound volumes...

        In response to the study space problem and locating journals, our
head librarian is proposing that we dismantle the current periodicals
area, consolidate and the shelve the current issues in pamphlet boxes at
the end of their respective bound titles...

        Do other libraries shelve the current issues in the same location
as the bound volumes?  What kind of problems have you experienced ?

        time required to shelve ?
        increased vandalism    ?
        Missing or misshelved issues        ?

        Thanks in advance for your response

    Debbie

----------(3)
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 16:02:33 -0600
From: Shirley Williams <willias@SWOSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Shelving current serial issues separately ? (Debbie Holme)

Debbie,
We shelve our current periodicals after our bound volumes!

----------(4)
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 13:12:57 -0900
From: Alexis Adams <anaga@UAA.ALASKA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Shelving current serial issues separately ? (Debbie Holme)

We here at the University of Alaska Anchorage Consortium Library do
exactly what is proposed for your consolidation.  We shelve loose issues
in boxes right next to the bound issues.  I have not noticed any confusion
of item location since we handle it this way.

If we consider a title a "Current Topic" title such as Time or Newsweek we
have a small area where only the most recent issue is held in a plastic,
clear front protective binder and the older loose issues are in boxes
located on the shelves with the rest of the journals.  When we get a new
issue, the old one is removed and put on the shelf and the new one is put
into the plastic binder.

I handle the journals when they come in but not the actual shelving of
them, that is done by our Circulation department.  But, I can tell you
that if a journal issue is somehow put back incorrectly by a patron they
are not misshelved for long, since the Circ dept. has an ongoing routine
of shelf reading.

As for vandalism, Those items that are ruined I find, sadly, to be in our
bound volumes.  Some student attempting to save time by razoring out an
article.  I have reluctantly grown used to tipping in these articles.
The only other effect I see seems to be the expected heavy use of our
Current Topic magazines.  Because of this, we have chosen to Microfilm the
majority of titles that fall into this category since they are unfit to
bind at a later time.  In a few cases we keep the paper copies for two
years no matter how current our microfilm is, since patrons seem to prefer
the paper copy.

I hope this info helps.
Alexis Adams -UAA Serials Dept.

----------(5)
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 08:13:27 -0500
From: Linda Grooms <Linda.Grooms@STETSON.EDU>
Subject: Re: Shelving current serial issues separately ? (Debbie Holme)

Several years ago we made a similar transition. We now shelve current
issues in pamphlet boxes at the end of the bound volumes for each title.
Our periodicals are shelved in a separate area, alphabetically. We use
clear plastic pamphlet boxes for the current issues and the patrons love
them. It makes it easier to see just what is in the box. We also have a
current display area where we shelve all issues received in the past week,
in no particular order. This satisfies our browsing patrons who like to
see the latest of everything. When processing the issues received daily,
we place a color coded paper clip on the cover of each issue. Each day the
issues received on that day of the week before (determined by the color of
the clip) are removed from display shelves, the clip is removed from the
cover and the issues are shelved in the pamphlet boxes. Reshevling items
picked up from study carrels, etc actually goes faster since there are
only two areas in which to reshelve. Issues with a paper clip on the issue
go back to the display shelves and everything else goes to the Periodicals
Shelves. There has been no increase in vandalism or missing issues. It
works for us!

Linda Grooms
Periodicals Supervisor