Lynne,
Welcome to the world of serials and serial publishers. I have dealt with this for years and have come to the understanding that there is nothing to be done except to watch for missing issues on any discard lists you may be on. The aggravating thing for me was that the publishers would extend the subscription but the serials vendor didn't necessarily know this or honor it resulting in an overlap of issues. After trying for years to synchronize these organizations when this happens I discovered that it wasn't worth it and my mental health was worth more than the cost of the bungled subscriptions.

Roger Davis
Serials Librarian
Kent State University - Stark Campus
Canton, OH 44720

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Lynne Weaver
Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 9:28 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] futile claiming

It just happened again.  I claimed a not-received issue, well within the
reasonable time for claims, but didn't get it.  Did a second claim, then
a third.  When EBSCO contacted the publisher for the third time, the
reply came back that the issue was out of print, but they would extend
the subscription.  This is happening more frequently and I am not happy.

I want the issue, not an extension.  Not having the issue creates a gap
in my holdings; a special problem if I'm binding.  Extending the expire
date makes subscription-tracking more cumbersome.  EBSCO was very
helpful in getting as many of my titles as possible on calendar-year
subscription periods, and I'd like to keep them that way.

I expect we're all running into this, and I don't suppose there's much
we can do about it.  I hope the publishers lurking on this list will get
the message and keep enough extra issues on hand to satisfy claims.

Lynne N. Weaver

Serials Coordinator

Lipscomb Library

Randolph College

Founded as Randolph-Macon Woman's College

2500 Rivermont Avenue

Lynchburg, VA  24503

434 947-8396

434 947-8134 Fax

lweaver@randolphcollege.edu