Hello other SERIALSTs,

I've come up against a publisher printing change that has really messed
up my check-in and claiming of journal issues.  I'd like to see what
others on the list are doing in reaction to this change.

Taylor & Francis (BTW, previously one of my favorite publishers) has
really thrown a wrench into my work.  I guess to save printing costs,
they have begun printing several distinct journal issues in a "combined"
print issue.  This is not truly a combined issue because the enumeration
on their website for the online content is specifically broken up so
that most issues remain as single no. for the issue, and T & F actually
has a notation on the print cover saying that the issue contains several
nos.  See the examples below.

The other aspect of this screwy printing is that when a researcher looks
for a current issue and can't find it, they often come to me or the
reference staff to find out when the issue is expected.  Obviously, I
now can't tell them the correct issue information.  This frustrates the
patron, the reference staff and me.

Two examples:

Example 1

Inhalation Toxicology
Print ISSN: 0895-8378
Online ISSN: 1091-7691
Frequency: 14 issues per year
(frequency taken from their website)

>>From the online edition:

Volume 18
   Number 10 / September 2006
   Number 8 / July 2006
   Number 7 / June 2006
   Number 6 / May 15 2006
   Number 5 / May 1 2006
   Number 4 / April 2006
   Number 3 / March 2006
   Number 2 / February 2006
   Number 1 / January 2006

>>From the print issues:

Volume 18
   Number 7-10 / 2006
  (no issue date but says on the cover "Included in this print edition:
Number 7 (June), Number 8 (July), Number 9 (August), Number 10
(September)")
   Number 3-6 / 2006
   (no issue date but says on the cover "Included in this print edition:
Number 3 (February 1), Number 4 (February 15), Number 5 (March 1),
Number 6 (April 1)")
   Number 1-2 / 2006
   (no issue date but says on the cover "Included in this print edition:
Number 1 (January 1), Number 2 (January 15)")

Example 2

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A
Print ISSN: 1528-7394
Online ISSN: 1087-2620
Frequency: 24 issues per year

>>From the online edition:

Volume 69
   Number 15 / August 1 2006
   Number 14 / July 15 2006
   Number 13 / July 1 2006
   Number 12 / June 15 2006
   Number 11 / June 1 2006
   Number 10 / May 15 2006
   Number 9 / May 1 2006
   Number 7-8 / April 9 2006
   Number 6 / March 26 2006
   Number 5 / March 12 2006
   Number 4 / February 27 2006
   Number 3 / February 2006
   Number 1-2 / January 8 2006

>>From the print issues:

   Number 5-6 / 2006
   (no issue date but says on the cover "Included in this print edition:
Number 5 (March 1), Number 6 (March 15)")
   Number 3-4 / 2006
   (no issue date but says on the cover "Included in this print edition:
Number 3 (February 1), Number 4 (February 15)")
   Number 1-2 / January 8 2006
   (this one is the same enumeration as the online edition)

So, as you can see, claiming can be a problem.  I can't use the
publisher website for issue enumeration and dates.  This means more
claiming which results in more work for everyone; me, the subscription
vendor, and even Taylor & Francis customer service.

This difference in enumeration and dates also means I can't set up my
serials management program to predict next issues, etc.

What to do??  What enumeration do I use in my check-in?  "Correct"
enumeration from the website or the print issue cover volume and
numbers??!!  This is the first time I've come up against this.

Fellow serialists, what are you doing about this?  If this has already
been brought up on the listserv, I missed it.

Thanks for your feedback!

barb

barb dietsch | serials coordinator
epa library | unc contract staff
109 tw alexander drive | mail code c267-01
research triangle park, nc 27711
phone: 919.541.0726
fax: 919.541.1405
dietsch.barbara@epa.gov