Closing the shelflist (2 messages) Birdie MacLennan 10 Sep 1996 14:55 UTC
2 messages, 62 lines: (1)------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Sep 1996 14:37:35 -0700 From: "MORSE, CAROL" <morsca@DOSGATE.WWC.EDU> Organization: Walla Walla College Computer Cen Subject: Re: Closing shelflist I do not understand why you are calling Kardex cards a shelf list. In our library, we maintain a Permanent Record file in which we type a record of every volume of every title in the Periodical collection. This is a shelf list. Kardex cards are something else. When we go to our Innovative catalog in the next year, we will dismantle the Kardex, but may keep the cards for several years in a box or something like that to refer back to. At this point, we have not discussed whether or not we will keep up the shelf list in the future. ************************************************************************* Carol Morse Phone: 509)527-2290 Serials Librarian Fax: 509)527-2001 Walla Walla College Library Email: morsca@wwc.edu College Place, WA 99324 Grant us wisdom to find the way and strength to carry on. ************************************************************************* (2)------------------------- Date: Mon, 9 Sep 1996 17:40:29 -0400 From: Craig Fairley <fairley@TAP.NET> Subject: Discarding the Shelflist A library I worked for had a policy of discarding acquisitions records after 5 years. This was successfully applied to the serials Kardex records in the following way: All holdings had been entered oline in the PAC (Level 4), and the Kardex was closed. Three years down the road I was given the task of trying to make the Serials operation fit into a space that was significantly smaller than their current space. There was some resistance from a number of serials clerks. After asking about their use of the file, they acknowledged that after 3 years they no longer learned anything new by looking into those files. We agreed to put the files into storage, where they could be accessed if necessary. A year later I discovered that nobody had accessed the files in storage, and were quite happy to have them discarded. I have been told that the Kardex will be discarded when the 5 year limit is reached. The key to the success of the process was the full conversion of holdings to the PAC. After two or three years, proving to a publisher or vendor that you did once have a subscription is often of little use. The issue at hand is to get a subscription going again, regardless of why it stopped. If the Shelflist/Kardex is your *only* source if information for some holdings, I would be reluctant to discard it, too. _________________________________________________________________ Craig Fairley Information Dynamics 2165 Margot Street Oakville, Ontario Canada L6H 3M5 (905) 842-1406 "Services in Information and Process Management"