ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 1 4 8 /C&RL News Using the Internet in se ria ls m anagem ent B y Marie K ascus an d Faith M errim an A cost-effective means o f resolving problems quickly I n February o f 1993 th e serials staff in the Elihu Burritt Library at Central Connecticut State University received training o n th e In n o ­ vative Interfaces library a u to m atio n system . Soon after training, the staff beg an to convert systematically the m anual records creating o n ­ line check-in cards for approxim ately 3,400 cur­ rent serials and continuations. Almost overnight, th e m anual check-in file w as transform ed from a n internal w orking record to a public record o f receipts in real time. Along w ith this change cam e the n eed to be attentive to the OPAC dis­ play to ensure that the check-in cards w ere help­ ful an d n o t confusing. T h e daily re c o rd o f re ­ c e ip ts is n o w p a r t o f th e o n lin e c a ta lo g d isp lay in g in ta n d e m as m aterial is c h e c k e d in. C h an g es in b o th w o rk flo w a n d p ro c e ­ d u re s cam e w ith th e tran sitio n from a m an u al to a n a u to m a te d system , p ro v id in g n e w ch al­ l e n g e s a n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r u s i n g th e c h a n g e to e n h a n c e serials o p e ra tio n s an d im ­ p ro v e service. O n e av en u e w e are exploring in m eeting these new challenges is use o f the Internet. Two o f th e basic Internet applications that are use­ ful in daily serials m anagem ent are: 1) rem ote log-in to another com puter and 2) e-mail. Gillian McCombs is correct in noting that m uch o f the current library activity o n th e Internet has em a­ n a te d from public services,1 but w e feel that th e Internet offers new possibilities for facili­ tating technical services w ork. We are using th e Internet in a variety o f w ays to locate and com m unicate information as w e seek m ore pro­ ductive an d cost-effective w ays to m anage se­ rials in an autom ated environm ent. Remote log-in Internet application T he ability to review th e thinking o f a larger b ody o f peers in m aking policy decisions has advantages. H aving th e benefit o f the collec­ tive thinking of o th er colleagues helps to p ro ­ vide a rationale and a fram ew ork for making decisions, even if you choose not to handle a problem in th e exact sam e way. D uring th e conversion process, w e fo u n d it helpful to log in to OPACs at o th er Innovative Interfaces sites to view their check-in cards. This w as d o n e w h e n w e w e re d ecid in g h o w to handle th e public display o f specific kinds o f m aterials su c h as indexes, m icroform s, CD- ROMs, o r loose-leaf services. Using this appli­ cation w e can quickly an d easily gather deci­ sion su p p o rt for form ulating policies o n how to h an d le particular serials check-in records b ased o n the choices o th er librarians are m ak­ ing in processing the sam e materials. Remote access to o th er catalogs provides an invisible w ay o f sharing inform ation a n d cooperating. Remote log-in to o ther online catalogs helps to inform claiming decisions in m onitoring re­ ceipt o f o u r serial publications. Using rem ote log-in to o ther OPACs, w e can quickly investi­ gate su sp ected delivery problem s w ith a p a r­ ticular subscription. N onreceipt o f a current is­ sue for an irregularly published serial m akes it difficult to kn o w w h eth er to claim th e issue im m ediately o r to wait. N ow w e can log in to an o th er library catalog, call u p its check-in card for th e d elayed title, a n d kn o w im m ediately if the issue w e are m issing has b e e n received at a n o th e r library and, th erefo re, n e e d s to b e claimed. With publishers’ lim ited stock, jour- Maríe Kascus is h ead o f serials a n d Faith M erriman is assistant serials librarian a t Central Connecticut State University, New Britain; e-mail: kascus@ccsu.ctstateu.edu; merriman@ccsu.ctstateu.edu mailto:kascus@ccsu.ctstateu.edu mailto:merriman@ccsu.cistateu.edu March 1 9 9 5 /1 4 9 T h e y l e a r n a b o u t t h e m i n B i o l o g y . T h e y l e a r n a b o u t t h e m i n H e a l t h . T h e y l e a r n a b o u t t h e m a t h o m e . A n d t h i s y e a r , o v e r o n e m i l l i o n t e e n a g e r s W I L L L E A R N A B O U T B A B I E S O N T H E I R O W N . M any A m ericans su pport sex education in the school system. Others believe it’s solely a parent’s responsibility. But as the controversy escalates, so does the num ber of teen pregnancies. You can explore all sides of this and other important p u blic and social policy issues through PAIS International. PAIS gives you instant access to an index of some 400,000 hard-to-find articles, books, governm ent docum ents, statistical directories and more. It references literature published around the globe. And now it’s even available on leased tape. So if yo u’re looking fo r information, don’t fool around. Use PAIS. Public Affairs Information Service, Inc. 521 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036-4396 800-288-PAIS, 212-736-6629 (in NYC) FAX: 212-643-2848, e-mail: inquiries@pais.org NO O N E L O O K S A T T H E W O R L D L I K E P A IS V I S I T U S A T B o o t h # 3 0 1 In P r in t : PAIS IN TERN ATIO N AL IN PRINT® • PAIS S U B J E C T HEA D IN G S O n lin e th ro u g h : DATA-STAR • DIA LOG • O C LC • RLG On CD-ROM: PAIS ON CD-ROM • PAIS IN TERNATIO NAL ON S IL V E R P L A T T E R • P A IS/EB SC O CD On M agnetic Tap e: CONTACT PAIS FO R INFORMATION A C R L mailto:inquiries@pais.org 150/C&RL News nal issues can quickly go out of print, so claim­ ing in a timely m anner is im portant a n d can affect w h eth er an issue is received at all. Also via the Internet, w e telnet to a rem ote com puter in Alabama to access EBSCO’s w orld­ w ide serials database for several purposes: 1) to use the EBSCONET system to claim missing issues; 2) to view the Journal Express Trans­ p o rt Service’s check-in records for delayed title information; 3) to search EBSCO’s missing copy b an k of popular titles an d request that EBSCO send us the n e e d e d issue instead o f claiming it from th e publisher; o r 4) to locate title and pu b lish er inform ation. Access in this w ay is quick an d cost-effective. E-mail Internet application T he e-m ail application m akes it possible to co rresp o n d w ithout having to consider g e o ­ graphical boundaries o r time zones. T he com ­ m unication is virtually instantaneous, does not Using traditional forms of communication, it could take weeks or months to get answers to questions that now can be answered in days or minutes. intrude on the recipient as telep h o n e com m u­ nication does, and allows the o ther p erso n to resp o n d w ith the n eed ed information w h en it is convenient. E-mail has the a d d e d advantage o f facilitating a response by making it quick a n d easy to reply to the message received. Since problem s com e to the surface m ore quickly in the online catalog, solving them in a timely m anner is important. O ne w ay w e are trying to resolve problem s quickly is by utiliz­ ing th e Internet to com m unicate w ith journal publishers about delays, nonreceipts, and prob­ lem s in enum eration. O u r recent Internet com ­ m unication includes tw o exam ples o f b in d ­ ery preparation problem s that w ere resolved by e-mail o n the Internet. For th e journal Computer Graphics w e w ere unable to determ ine if the latest tw o volum es w ere com plete w ith tw o an d three issues each, since the previous pattern h ad b een four to five issues p e r volum e. We fo u n d no informa­ tion in the issues them selves to help resolve the problem . An e-mail address w as located in the journal, a m essage w as sent, an d a re­ ponse w as received w ithin 20 m inutes indi­ ating that volum e 26 w as com plete in three ssues an d 27 in tw o issues, bu t the publishing requency w ould revert back to the previous attern o f four issues p e r volum e w ith volum e 8.2 With this inform ation confirm ed, w e w ere hen able to sen d th e volum es for binding w ith onfidence. We w ere also able to m odify the heck-in card to project the expected date for uture issues based on th e frequency informa­ ion provided. Bindery preparations identified a problem ith the journal Chromosoma. It w as not clear f volum e 102 w as com plete in 10 issues or h eth er a sup plem ent h ad b een published for hat volum e, as in previous years, a n d n o t re­ eived. Again, an e-m ail address w as located nd an Internet message was sent. The response ack indicated that the volum e did, in fact, have supplem ent m ailed out w ith the D ecem ber ssue an d that the delivery d epartm ent w ould en d us a copy in the next few w eeks if w e did ot receive o n e.3 Since w e h ad no t received h e supplem ent, w e u sed the REPLY option to heir m essage to request that it b e sent. With serials, it is not always possible to re­ olve problem s o f incorrect enum eration o r n o n ­ elivery. Incorrect enum eration som etim es re­ ults in rep eated claims for the w rong issue n d w astes time an d effort o n th e p art of both ibrary an d publisher. N ondelivery can result n issues being out o f print w h en claim ed cre­ ting gaps in th e journal collection. Problem s n nondelivery im pact o u r ability to serve our lientele. Using traditional forms of com m uni­ ation, it could take w eeks o r m onths to get nsw ers to questions that no w can be answ ered in days o r minutes. To b e able to solve p ro b ­ em s in a timely m anner m eans increased p ro ­ u c tiv ity in se ria ls o p e r a tio n s a n d b e tte r ervice to o u r public service staff an d users. Prelim inary su rvey of the availab ility f e-mail ad dresses in journals n th e short time that w e have b een involved ith o u r new integrated online system an d the Internet, w e have observed an increase in the num ber o f journals that include e-mail addresses along w ith the m ore traditional w ays o f com ­ municating. Internet addresses are being p ro ­ ided in journals for a variety o f p urposes in­ c lu d in g c o m m u n ic a tio n w ith th e e d ito r , copyright, docum ent delivery, article reprints, (Serials cont. on page 176) s c i f p 2 t c c f t w i w t c a b a i s n t t s d s a l i a i c c a l d s o I w v March 1 9 9 5 /1 5 1 1 52/C&RL News UN iX T O D A Y ’ S U N I X R A C E W A S O V E R I N 1 9 8 2 . W E W O N . Today, th e re 's a race am o n g lib rary a u to m a tio n com panies to d e v elo p a UNIX®- b ased a u to m atio n system . A sy stem th a t's tru ly open. A sy stem th a t w ill su p p o rt all h a rd w a re platform s. O ne th a t w ill n e tw o rk sm all system s o r large ones - tw o term inals or th o u san d s. A sy stem th a t's m a tu re in design. T h at w o rk s w ith o u t b ugs. A system th a t is c lie n t/s e rv e r a n d offers th e user-frien d lin ess of W indow s!“ It's a race to d ev elo p a sy stem ju st like the o n e o u r libraries hav e b een u sin g for o v er a decade. U nicorn O n UNIX. T h ere's N o C ontest. Huntsville, Alabama • 205 922-9825 • Fax 205 922-9818 London, England • 0707 660022 • Fax 0707 647517 W indow s is a tra d e m a rk of MICROSOFT. UNIX is a registered tra d e m a rk o f UNIX S ystem Laboratories, Inc.