Like Sheila, we had a "serials list" computer printout produced from the
campus main frame. Producing and maintaining it was very time-consuming for
serials dept. staff. It was multi-volume, bound, and copies were all over
the place: reference area, reference dept., branch libraries, special
collections, cataloging dept.

The serials list had call number, location, title, and summary holdings,
and cross references from variant, earlier, and later titles. It was
maintained until our serial holdings were online and that wasn't many years
ago. I don't know when it began, or how holdings were advertised to patrons
before we had it.

During the era of the "serials list", catalog cards for serials were
imprinted with this message below the call number: "For Holdings See
Serials List. "There was a "cardex" in the serials dept., but the public
couldn't get to it. I think it was used only for "journals." Other serial
holdings were kept in a small card catalog in the serials dept.

Jack Hall
114L University of Houston Libraries
Houston, TX  77204-2000
telephone:(713) 743-9687
e-mail: jhall@uh.edu
fax: (713) 743-9748