"passionate" is definitely on the mark there! I agree that checkin is a basic tool to ensure that you are getting what you pay for. We are also a state institution and I would feel a bit uncomfortable dispensing with checkins based on the amount of claiming that we currently do and the fact that we still bind most of our titles. That said, I don't agree with couching this whole debate as a right or wrong issue. You do what you think is best given the parameters you have (staff, fiscal resources, institutional/administrative requirements, etc.). And that will be different for each library. Besides, checkin v. non-checkin is a sliding scale. Many libraries check in their journals but don't worry about their daily newspapers, for example. Or a public library may check in their journals at their main branch but not worry about their branch titles. Or they may not worry about checking in when they have electronic access or they are gifts, etc. Again, it will be different for each library depending on a variety of factors. Buddy Pennington Serial Acquisitions Librarian UMKC - University Libraries 800 E. 51st Street Kansas City, MO 64110 816-235-1548 816-333-5584 (fax) penningtonb@umkc.edu UMKC University Libraries: Connecting Learners to the World of Knowledge www.umkc.edu/lib -----Original Message----- From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Hijleh, Renee Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 10:16 AM To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Looking for other libraries that have eliminated check-in Actually, you are mistaken in your oversimplification of matters. As a state institution, we have a responsibility to the public to see that their funds are used properly. And we actually have had auditors come to our department, check our invoices, and demand to see that ALL of the issues PAID FOR were RECEIVED. If they have not been received, then they require a documented explanation. This does not bother me, and furthermore I feel that this is how things should be run. (And yes, I could be reproved, with possible loss of my job, if it was deemed that I was not handling my duties correctly and costing the state money by mishandling departmental funds.) Our journal subscriptions are costly, and getting insanely more so every year. We cannot afford to pay $600 or more for a quarterly, or $7,000 or more for a weekly, and then not know whether or not we are receiving all that we have paid for! Who responsibly spends money this way? Furthermore our overall journal budget is not that forgiving. We cannot afford to be cavalier with how any of our funds are spent. You start having multiple problems with expensive journals (like Elsevier, Blackwell, etc.) and the cost for loss starts adding up into the thousands of dollars quickly and easily. Who can actually afford to just let $5,000 to $10,000 of materials go missing and unaccounted for? Would be acceptable for your book budget? Or any other budget?.. I don't think so. Money lost is money lost. Thus, to me, its the height of irresponsibility and misuse of departmental funds to knowingly allow nonreceipt of any materials paid for. Conversely, responsible management is getting exactly what you paid for in a timely manner, and if there are problems, refunds and compensation for missed issues are ALWAYS required. Any prolonged problems with titles or publishers are resolved by discontinuing doing business with them and finding a better alternative. Most arguments for ditching checkin ring hollow. When it comes right down to it, it represents lazy management and the equivalent of playing Russian Roulette with your budget. How can you have an accurate finger on the pulse of your journal collection without checkin, and corresponding use studies? You can't. Because you have no idea what you have received, nor what is being used. You also have no idea if you have overlapped subs (that basically equates to double billing for the same issues), dropped subs, delayed issues, missed issues, misdelivered subs, etc., etc., etc. You would even have a hard time catching title changes! You'd have to wait until the next billing cycle, and that's only if your department paid the invoice and not some other accounts payable department at your institution! How can anyone call this good management? You can't, because its not. I am one voice that will never join the noncheckin bandwagon!! My passionate 2 cents.... Renee Hijleh Periodicals Department William D. McIntyre Library PO Box 5010 University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI 54702-5010 715-836-3306 fax: 715-836-2949 -----Original Message----- From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum [mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Dan Lester Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2006 5:05 PM To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Looking for other libraries that have eliminated check-in Every state and every institution has different rules regarding auditing of institutional property. However, has an auditor EVER come looking to see if you have the December 2004 issue of Albanian Underwater Basketweaving? I didn't think so. Remember that even if you have a subscription to the journal, and have carefully recorded that you received it, that doesn't mean that it is still in the library. Right? As long as you have some issues for 04 (or whatever subscription period) and the documents that show you paid for it (rather than writing a check to yourself), I believe you've done your duty. And even if your auditors aren't happy that they, what sanctions are they going to take? Certainly they can't do anything that will get you fired. No, I'm not, thank goodness, an auditor. But I do know that we librarians make FAR too many decisions based on "what if" worst case scenarios than we need to. All too many libraries and library departments are managed by fear and worry, rather than common sense. dan Wednesday, January 11, 2006, 1:51:51 PM, you wrote: TSE> There were a TSE> number of participants however who quickly noted that check-in was TSE> required for auditing purposes. -- Dan Lester, Data Wrangler dan@RiverOfData.com 208-283-7711 3577 East Pecan, Boise, Idaho 83716-7115 USA www.riverofdata.com Fair is whatever God decides to do.
