Hi James et al.,

Wow, it certainly has been interesting to see which papers are delivered
late.  Our biggest problem newspaper is El Diario.  Online access is free
so I've added a link in our catalog via the 856 tag in the bib. record for
the print version (plus a 530 tag that describes the additional format).

Is anyone else experiencing problems with El Diario?  I "heart" my jobber
-- EBSCO does a really admirable job keeping up with our claims.  If/ when
the publisher doesn't respond, EBSCO usually extends our subscription by
however many issues we haven't received.

In response to the original question posed by James:

"Because of this problem, we have considered switching these titles to an
online-only format.  Does anyone have any experience with this?  Among
others, I'm concerned about providing enough computers to maintain a
suitable level of access as well as cost of downloading."

Depending on your library's tech set up and the vendor license(s), online
subscriptions allow patrons to re-configure the browser of whatever PC they
happen to be sitting at.  Users don't have to be on-site to access
electronic subscription titles.  Different licenses stipulate different
access methods and security measures (e.g. proxy-rewrites,
password-protections). Every organization's tech set up is unique so always
talk to your IT folks about various tech options for remote users before
signing a vendor license agreement.

FWIW, I would be more concerned re: adequate maintenance of your holdings
and the bibliographic integrity of your OPAC than how many PCs you will
need on site.  If you pay for online access to a title, then you must
continue to pay for it in order to access back issues.  If you should ever
cease to maintain an online subscription, then your library will lose all
of its holdings.  Also, remember that many publishers offer free online
access if you purchase the print version.

Publishers generally do not permit former subscribers access to its
archives.  If your collection development policy states that you must keep
"Title X" for 5+ years then "Title X" might not be a good candidate for an
"electronic only" subscription.  If a periodical is a core title, then
acquire the print version as your archival copy in case you ever have to
cancel the electronic version. IME, "online-only" subscriptions usually
work best for titles that are kept a short time and then
discarded.  According to these standards, I suspect that you could probably
provide sufficient access to the Boston Globe and Washington Post via the
"online-only" route.

As for downloading -- I'm presuming that you're talking about bib.
records?  If so, then you might want to explore SFX Solutions or other
serial aggregators that can provide you with full (Level-3) bibliographic
records for your catalog and will maintain your links.  As a cataloger, I
can tell you that it is a Herculean task to catalog all of the e-serials in
your proprietary databases and then maintain the holdings and links.

As always, YMMV.  Hope this helps! :)

Best wishes,

Stephanie

Stephanie Hess
Manager, Library Access & Technical Services
Bankier Library

At 09:32 AM 3/23/2005 -0500, you wrote:
>This thread has been very interesting as I've often commented that we spend
>an awful lot of time dealing with newpapers and problems relating
>delivery/supply of them.  And how angry our patrons can become when they
>could resolve the problem by spending just fifty cents (for the local
>paper) for the occasional non-supply. However, I didn't realize how
>fortunate we have been with the receipt of papers via the US mail.  Usually
>they are only a few days late and that has generally been very acceptable.
>
>In the case of the New York Times, our collection development librarians
>wanted the New York edition with the NYC area job ads.  The paper we could
>have delivered on the same day from a local distributor would not have
>those ads.
>
>We have also made use of a campus newstand supply; however, they are not
>open when school is not in session (spring break, semester break,
>weekends), so that option has not worked for every branch.
>
>Good luck to everyone.  You certianly have plenty of opportunities to think
>and act creatively to provide your patrons with newspapers!
>
>Susan
>
>--On Tuesday, March 22, 2005 5:05 PM -0500 "Patricia M. Breno"
><pbreno@OWENS.EDU> wrote:
>
>>All of our newspapers also arrive via US mail.  We subscribe to the New
>>York Times, Sunday only and it always arrives at least 10-14 days late.
>>One faculty member gets his copies on time and very vocally cannot
>>understand why we don't have the same delivery...  And no, he won't
>>share...
>>
>>Our two local paper subscriptions are usually 1-2 days late, but Wall
>>Street Journal and USA Today are always on time....
>>
>>Contacting New York Times was a lesson in futility--we are very small
>>potatoes. Our subscription agent hasn't had any success with this issue.
>>
>>Pat Breno
>>
>>
>>Date sent:              Tue, 22 Mar 2005 10:56:48 -0600
>>Send reply to:          "SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum"
>><SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU> From:                   "BORCHERT, JAMES"
>><James.Borchert@SDSTATE.EDU> Subject:                [SERIALST] Late
>>Newspapers, etc.
>>To:                     SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
>>
>>Hello, we have been having a problem with a couple of our newspapers
>>coming late.  The two worst offenders are the Boston Globe and the
>>Washington Post.  These papers are arriving between 7-10 days late.
>>We purchase these titles through Ebsco, they have contacted them and
>>have been told that there is nothing we can do because they come
>>through the mail.
>>
>>My questions are: Does anybody else have this problem (not necessarily
>>these titles)?  And what did you do about it?
>>
>>I have one other, semi-related question.  Because of this problem, we
>>have considered switching these titles to an online-only format.  Does
>>anyone have any experience with this?  Among others, I'm concerned
>>about providing enough computers to maintain a suitable level of
>>access as well as cost of downloading.
>>
>>Thank you in advance,
>>
>>James Borchert
>>Serials Department
>>H.M. Briggs Library
>>Box 2115
>>South Dakota State University
>>Brookings, SD 57007-1098
>>James.Borchert@sdstate.edu <mailto:James.Borchert@sdstate.edu>
>>
>>Patricia Breno
>>Serials Librarian
>>Owens Community College
>>P.O. Box 10,000
>>Toledo, Ohio 43699-1947
>>567.661.7020
>>pbreno@owens.edu
>
>
>
>Susan Davis
>Head, Electronic Periodicals Management Department
>University at Buffalo (SUNY)
>134 Lockwood Library
>Buffalo, NY  14260-2210
>(716) 645-2784
>(716) 645-5955 fax
>unlsdb@buffalo.edu