Classifying Serials Birdie MacLennan 23 Sep 1992 15:40 UTC
3 messages, 81 lines: -------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 08:50:31 EDT From: Cindy Hepfer <HSLCINDY@UBVM> Subject: Classifying serials The NASIG workshop that Birdie mentioned was also followed up with a paper in SERIALS REVIEW. Citation: Glenda Ann Thornton. "Physical Access to Perodical Literature: The Dilemma Revisited and a Brief Look at the Future." SERIALS REVIEW 17:4 (1991): p.33-42. In the article, Glenda discusses the U. of N. Texas' review of its alphabetically arranged periodical collections and a proposal to classify them. She developed the topic into a 1990 NASIG workshop which included a participant survey. This article covers the survey results and ideas for improving physical access to periodicals. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 23:56:41 -0400 From: JUDITH HOPKINS AT SUNY BUFFALO <ULCJH@UBVMS.BITNET> Subject: Re: Classifying Serials I must admit to some bemusement at reading about the Univ. of Vermont's decision to classify its current, unbound periodicals and not the bound volumes. It is with current issues that the value of being able to go directly to the title of interest to browse is greatest without having to take the intermediate step of checking the catalog to find out the call number. In small departmental collections the range of call numbers would be rather limited. Unbound current issues do not raise the problem of changed titles (but not changed scope) which is one of the reasons for classifying bound volumes. In the General Libraries of the University at Buffalo when we decided to classify the periodicals, that decision applied only to the bound volumes in the stacks. The current issues in the current periodicals reading room are still arranged alphabetically by title. However, on the shelf label that is provided for each title we give, in addition to the title, the call number. In that way a user interested in following some thread from a current issue to the back volumes of that same title is provided with the call number without having to go to the catalog. Judith Hopkins VOICE: (716) 645-2796 Technical Services Research and Analysis Officer Central Technical Services FAX: (716) 645-5955 Lockwood Library Building State University of New York at Buffalo BITNET: ulcjh@ubvm (OR, ubvms) Buffalo, NY 14260-2200 INTERNET: ulcjh@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1992 10:15:07 From: Birdie MacLennan <BMACLENN@UVMVM.BITNET> Subject: Classifying serials Actually, Judith Hopkins just made me realize that our original intention in shifting current issues to a classed arrangement was precisely for the reason of increased browsability (I forgot to mention that in my previous message, I think because I've been preoccupied by the difficult holdings locations displays of the two shelving arrangements in our OPAC -- basically the same location "PER" ... current issues by call #; bound vols. by title on one NOTIS copy holdings statement -- not easily comprehensible to the public, as I mentioned earlier). But browsability is one of the nice features of the arrangement. As a librarian, it's wonderful to find all our journals in one area with the Z's, as it is to find all literature with the P's, art with the N's, etc. But, do I need to remind folks that the <LC> classification schedules are not infallible or perfect? Witness, for example, the classification arrangement for mathematics. Most of them are with "Q" ... however, there are a number of instances where materials about statistics have been classed with the HA's. The Mathematics Dept. at UVM was one of our primary motivators for a classed arrangement ... and they were not happy when we had to explain to them why some of their journals were here (under Q), and some were there (under H). Probably no system is perfect -- no matter how you look at it. Though if someone *has* worked out the ideal arrangement, I'd love to hear about it! Birdie MacLennan University of Vermont