Mark,

We house our current issues in the serials stacks with the bound
volumes.

We are a smallish library and subscribe to 1200 titles.  We bind many
titles, but get some on microfilm too.  For popular titles, we have a
retention period of one or 2 years.  They stay on the shelves until the
period is up, then we pitch them.

We have a few very popular titles, such as U. S. News, National
Geographic, and Readers Digest, that we keep in a special display
area--latest issue only.  Others go directly to the stacks.

We do restrict use to our very large department.  If patrons want to
take our materials somewhere else in the building, we hold their IDs
until the materials are returned.

We security strip all issues.

Linda Newman Cox, M.L.I.S., M.A., Associate Prof.
Head Librarian, Serials & Media Div. and Interlibrary Loan
Northwestern State Univ Libraries
Natchitoches, LA  71497
phone 318.357.4419    fax 318.357.4470
                 cox@nsula.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Mark Hemhauser
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 12:56 PM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] questions regarding open current periodical stacks

We have always had closed current periodical stacks and are planning to
move to open stacks. I would like to get some idea of how other academic
libraries arrange their current periodicals in open stacks. This
listserv seems the ideal way to gather that info from many libraries.

1. Do you keep your current periodicals in a separate place from your
bound periodicals? All current periodicals together? Or do you shelve
them mixed in with the bound volumes?

2. Approximately how many subscriptions to print journals and magazines
do you have?

3. Do you eventually bind most of them or toos them?

4. How do you shelve/display the current issues before they've been
bound? (We currently are using hanging folders for the closed stacks. I
don't think they will work well in open stacks.)

5. Do you restrict the use of the current periodicals to a floor or
room? Or can they be taken anywhere in the library?

6. Do you security strip all issues, most issues, random issues,
weighted towards titles that more often disappear?

Thank you for your replies.

Mark Hemhauser
American University Library--Serials & E-Resources
Washington, DC  20016