I can't speak to RFID, but at our library, we ran into challenges when we
were no longer able to afford to bind materials.  Prior to that, we had only
barcoded the bound volumes and not the loose ones.  We had not taken in-house
use stats, other than manually.  We always affixed call no. labels because
our periodicals section is classified.

Our solution was to barcode the plastic "boxes" in which the loose issues
were housed.  That way, each time a loose issue is shelved, the shelver wands
the box.  It has proved a viable solution.  In the catalog, we have a single
item record that serves this generic purpose.

I realize that you will be moving and this approach may not solve your
particular problem, but we were faced with a need to deal with our issue and
a serious shortage of staff to handle the workload going forward.  We also
had to consider the ongoing cost of all those additional barcodes, since all
the loose issues would need to be barcoded until we cancelled print in favor
of e-formats.

In retrospect, it's proved to be a reasonable decision as more and more
periodicals go online and we get fewer and fewer print issues.  Also, use of
retrospective journals has declined.  It's hard to rationalize spending all
that time and effort barcoding when the usage is likely to go down and there
are more pressing and more current matters to address.

Aline

Aline Soules
Cal State East Bay
510-885-4596
aline.soules@csueastbay.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum on behalf of
Crissinger, John
Sent: Wed 5/30/2007 1:47 PM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Barcoding periodicals

I am interested in this, too. We will be moving to a new building next
year and it will drastically affect our checkout process and security.
We have mentioned bar coding issues but not too seriously yet. Please
share any information, especially if it involves RFID. Thanks!

John D Crissinger
Newark Campus Library
OSUN/COTC
Newark, OH 43055

Crissinger.5@osu.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Connie Foster
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 10:21 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] Barcoding periodicals

With some trepidation I ask about advantages or disadvantages of
embarking on a project to barcode and give item ids and possibly spine
labels to our periodical collection, which currently is simply shelved
in alpha order with no tracking capabilities. My sense is that
statistics would be useful but I'm not sure the impact of such a project

is worth that one asset?
Appreciate experiences or advice for those who have considered or moved
in that direction. Unless others are interested, you can reply directly
to me.
Many thanks.
Connie Foster

--
************************************************************************
******************
Connie Foster, Professor and Head, Dept. of Library Technical Services
Western Kentucky University Libraries
Editor, Serials Review
1906 College Heights Blvd. #11067
Bowling Green KY 42101-1067
connie.foster@wku.edu  tel:270-745-6151 fax:270-745-3958

	"Creating Information Possibilities"

	TopSCHOLAR(tm) http://digitalcommons.wku.edu

Electronic submission for authors at http://ees.elsevier.com/serrev
http://sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00987913