3. What is Serial
A serial is expected to continue indefinitely. Serials include magazines,
newspapers, annuals (such as reports, yearbooks, and directories),
journals, memoirs, proceedings, transactions of societies, and
monographic series."
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4. INTRODUCTION
Anyone who has had the most fleeting acquaintance with the development,
management or use of a serials collection is aware of the complex and time-
consuming procedures required to control this most valuable but frustrating type
of library material. The benefits of the application of automation in other areas of
library operations is now well established; it is a natural progression for librarians
and systems designers to seek to apply the power of the computer to the control
of one of librarianship's most troublesome processes.
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5. THE BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASE
To open an examination of automated serial control systems with a discussion of
the bibliographic database may seem a classic example of putting the cart before
the horse. A moment's reflection will show that not to be the case. The cost of
procuring hardware and software or subscribing to automated serials control
services is obvious. It is not so clear that the bibliographic database a term used
somewhat loosely here to refer to all the machine-readable files in an automated
serials control system that contain data relating to the bibliographic description
and local holdings of a serial-also represents a considerable investment.
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6. SERIALS CONTROL SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
• The functions that a library requires in an automated serials control system will
vary widely according to the type and size of the library and its serial
management and usage practices.
• Under the pressure of day-to-day operations, it is easy to avoid or postpone
decisions relating to the implementation of standards such as AACR, the
MARC I1 communications format, serials holdings statements, or the
evaluation of the suitability of the various sources of copy cataloging.
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7. Searching Accessing Capabilities
• supports library definition of access points to data in all files
• access points to bibliographic records shall accommodate data in title, alternate title,
subject, author/publisher fields, and ISSN; also other control numbers and data in
coded fields
• a variety of searching procedures shall be accommodated including: keywords, with or
without a defined context; truncation capabilities; control number access; and the use
of Boolean techniques applicable within and among fields
• the results of searches shall be available both as screen displays and as printed outputs
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8. Bibliographic Information
• Form of entry in a single entry listing
• Title of the serial
• Variations of title
• Relationship with other publications: merger, division, incorporation, etc
• Association with an issuing body
• Place of publication
• Name of publisher
• Current frequency of publication previous frequencies of publication
• Language(s) of publication
• Related indexes, special issues, etc.
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9. Bibliographic Record Format
• accommodates bibliographic records in full MARC format
• accommodates full length bibliographic records
• a permits the creation of abbreviated records in the MARC format
• supports authority records in full and abbreviated MARC formats
• retains formatting data internally so that data can be output in the MARC
format if required
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10. AUTOMATED FUNCTIONS
• Provide automated support for the following operations in addition to file creation,
maintenance, and searching:
• Selection Function
• Acquisition and Payment
• Order Function
• check-in and receipt processing
• identification of missing issues
• Retune Function
• claiming of missing issues
• Cancellation Function
• Binding Function
• Routing Function
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11. Selection Function
• Method whereby item was selected for consideration
• Person who requested the item
• Selection decision: acquire reject cancel reconsider place on desiderata list, etc.
• Reason for selection decision
• Person making selection decision
• Results of usage evaluations conducted on the title
• Capable of supporting a file of desiderata
• Capable of supporting a file of information on negative selection decisions, containing information on titles considered for
selection and the reasons for the negative decisions it shall be possible to flag items in both files for the automatic production of
reminders to reconsider.
• Such reminders to be capable of being issued either on a specified date or as a group including all records which are flagged
within a variable, user determined time frame
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12. Acquisition and Payment
• Method whereby this copy is obtained: subscription
standing order exchange/gift, etc.
• Source of this copy
• Type of source: publisher, subscription agent, etc.
• Billing address
• Claiming address
• Contact person at source
• Source’s control identification
• Number for the title other items received
• actual price paid for the copy
• currency in which payment is required
• have back issues been ordered source of back issues
• extent of order
• date order placed
• status of order: open/closed/pending
• invoice details
• payment details
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13. Order Function
• The order function in as serials system is similar to that in an acquisitions
system. The user searches a bibliographic file for an existing bibliographic
record as a basis for ordering or enters a new one.
• After the record is located or entered, the user specifies how many copies of the
serial are to be ordered, which branch libraries are to receive copies, which
supplier will provide the serial title, and which fund will pay for each copy.
• If supplier, location, or fund is not already in a file, the user can add a new
record or correct an existing one.
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14. Check-in and receipt processing
• The check-in function records the arrival of the first item of a new order and all
subsequent issues of that order. When the first issue arrives, it signals that the
supplier has started the flow of individual issues.
• At this point the check-in system registers that the order has begun to be filled
and no longer consider claiming the order as opposed to individual issues.
• The check-in system needs this information to facilitate recording the arrival,
the user specifies the title to be checked-in and the issue’s destination within
the library.
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15. Identification of Missing Issues
Capable of automatically identifying when issues of a serial have not been checked-in.
Recognition capabilities shall be applied to all types of acquisition situations, regardless of
whether or not the title is received on a paid subscription, and shall include the following
situations:
• failure to receive the next issue within the expected time frame which is automatically
determined by calculations based on publication frequency data and a library specified "grace"
period
• in a title with a predictable pattern of publication, receipt of an issue later than expected
• in a title with a predictable pattern of enumeration, receipt of an issue later in the numeric
sequence than the next expected issue
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16. Returns Function
• Issues may not be acceptable to the library because they are damaged,
duplicates not ordered, or not wanted.
• The returns subsystem processes the return of an item to the supplier. The user
searches the bibliographic and holdings files to find the items to be returned,
indicates to the system that the item is to be returned, and keys in the reason for
the return.
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17. Claiming Function
• There are several types of claiming operations performed by a serials system.
To claim an order, a letter is sent to the supplier indicating that the title was
ordered but not received.
• Once an order has been selected, a claim letter is generated, the order record
updated to reflect the date of the claim and a serials correspondence record
generated.
• Periodically, individual issues are gathered together and send to the bindery. If
items are not returned when expected, a claim needs to be issued to the bindery.
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18. Cancellation Function
• The cancellation subsystem allows cancellation of an order for a title, an
individual issue of a title, and a binding order.
• As described previously, the user selects an order to be cancelled based on a
search of the order or bibliographic file.
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19. Binding Function
• The user selects titles for binding and determines whether the issues that
comprise each bound volume are present in the library’s holdings.
• A binding order is produced based on specifications stored in the binding
specifications file that describe the type and color of binding, labeling , type
font, and so on, to be used in the process.
•
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20. Routing Function
Individual issues of a serial can be routed to staff, faculty, or others by a branch
library. The serials system keeps track of who is to receive a particular title, the
order in which requestors will receive the title, the production of routing slips and
the states of items routed by the system.
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