I really believe in getting serials on display and in front of people's
faces.  This can turn casual browsers into active frequent
users.  Otherwise, only the most serious &  motivated  researchers will be
aware of what is in the library.  The most important part is getting the
serials into people's hands, so even though  it can create more shelving
work it is worth it.   We have a shelving cart and signs requesting users
to place used periodicals on the cart to be shelved.  We emphasize that
this allows us to track use and make sure we keep subscribing to the
serials they want and need.  Employees periodically "sweep" the periodicals
area, document titles that have been left on the shelving cart, and
reshelve them.
As far as needing floor space, I can only empathize.  It is a continuous
struggle in many facilities. Certainly the high cost of many subscriptions
supports using up that floor space.

Susan Shelly, Serials Librarian
Good Library
Goshen College
Goshen, IN

At 11:40 AM 6/9/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2003 09:25:16 -0500
>From: "Sibley, Betty" <bsibley@gulfcoast.edu>
>
>Currently our community college library has about 50% of its print serial
>titles on display in the periodicals section of the library. These are
>mostly leisure reading and some subject specific journals. The other 50
>percent are housed on bound shelves. We are tossing around the idea of
>putting all of our journals that we subscribe to on display. The rationale
>is that patrons think we only subscribe to the magazines currently on
>display. My feelings are that it would take up precious floor space and
>also be a nightmare for shelving purposes. Any insights or suggestions?
>
>Thank you,
>
>
>Jean Sibley
>Serials Librarian
>Gulf Coast Community College
>Panama City FL 32401
>bsibley@gulfcoast.edu