We have the opposite shelving arrangement to that described by Birdie MacLennan.
Our bound volumes are classified and shelved with the other classified library
materials (i.e. monographs); our current periodicals are arranged in alphabetic
order on the same reference floor which houses the bound volumes of the title.
By and large we find this arrangement satisfies both reference and patrons and
that it causes very little confusion once people catch onto the basic premise
that we don't have an isolation ward for journal literature.  The only real
dissent we have had was from a single persistent professor who wanted all the
journals from his discipline marked with distinctive colored stickers (e.g.
all engineering journals to have large round yellow stickers, math to have
blue triangles, etc.) and shelved in (preferably) a separate alcove with
room for a table and one chair, so he could be comfortable.  We surveyed the
other faculty and no one supported it.

The only place on campus that does not follow this arrangement is one small
branch, which separates the serials out and files the bound volumes in
alphabetic order (despite the call# on the spine).  They then have to
memorize the shelving order, since they try to shelve all the titles
changes together despite the spine title.  I think they must spend a lot of time
   consulting the online catalog to determine what goes with what as they
sometimes call Serials Dept. and plaintively ask us to divulge what the
current entry for X is, so they can reshelve volumes that have been used.

I would personally like to have the microfilm backfiles available with the
print material in the same subject area, but to date this has been resisted
on grounds of economy and machine service.

Thomas Sanders, Serials, Auburn University, AL (tsanders@auducvax)