At this branch we do not circulate our material, due to their fragile
nature, and the difficulty in finding replacements for lost or damaged
issues.  We are the last resort for the 50 other branches in our system when
patrons want articles, so we need to keep an archive of usable copies for a
minimum of 5 years.  We do allow 2 hour "reference loans" for those people
who want to go to a copy shop to make color photocopies.

A few years ago we did allow the circulation of our foreign language
magazines, which was popular with many.  Unfortunately, as there is no
borrowing limit here, certain individuals would come in with a box, and
sweep everything off the shelf into the box, and keep them for the three
week loan period.  Thus the people who actually walked into the library did
not find anything to read.  For this, and the above mentioned damage to
borrowed materials, even this limited circulation was stopped.

Charles L. King
Serials Librarian
Hawaii State Library
478 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813-2994
http://www.state.hi.us/libraries/hsl/serials.html