This is a good question.

Usually it is by individual library's own policy or norm. We shelve by full name regardless of the known initials to maintain consistency.

Regards,

Julia Wang
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Julia Wang
Acquisitions/Serials Librarian
Greenlease Library
Rockhurst University
1100 Rockhurst Rd.
Kansas City, MO 64110
Tel: 816-501-4143
Fax 816-501-4666

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@list.uvm.edu] On Behalf Of Beth Shively Wages
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2010 11:31 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] Shelving organization

My library is in the process of cleaning up and reevaluating our serials
collection. The collection is stored alphabetically in one location. We
currently have a few journals shelved by their initials (for example, JAMA),
with the rest shelved by full name. My concern is that using both could
potentially be confusing for students.

My question to the forum is about how those of you with alphabetized
collections handle shelving location for journals that are known by their
initials, either officially or unofficially. Do you shelve by initials to
use a more commonly known name, or by official journal title to maintain
consistency?

I'm relatively new to this position and don't know if there is any common
school of thought.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide!

Beth Shively Wages
Serials Specialist
Lee and Jim Vann Library
University of Saint Francis
eshively@sf.edu