Although Mitch may be correct in saying that the patron may not actually
be looking for the entire list of periodicals, I would not be so quick
to judge Karyn's reference interview (esp. without knowing the whole
story). Sometimes patrons are just curious and want to browse, without
any topic in mind. I have also had faculty members that wish to know how
many periodicals we currently receive and want complete lists by subject
area to pass on to their students for reference.

For research projects, I would suggest helping the patron narrow down
the topic and help them to use the catalog to find the proper resources,
but some patrons just have a curiosity about what magazines and journals
the library has-- sometimes by browsing a list of periodicals titles you
can tell how well balanced a library's resources are. So, while
additional reference interview questions may be necessary, it may be
important in your particular library to have such a list on hand
(whether printed or on the web).

I personally maintain an Access database with our periodical titles,
ISSNs, Dewey Class, holdings by volumes and years, binding info, source
(subscription agent, publisher, or donor), format (microform, print,
online, CD-ROM), online availability, misc. notes, a column with coding
for: current titles (C) so I can limit by the category (C or "blank")
and either view only current titles or only backfile runs that have
ended, and a column with location codes since we keep some periodicals
in our special collections and we separate our religious and secular
titles because of the large amount of religious titles we hold for our
Biblical Studies program. Of course, the patron does NOT need to know
most of that information, but with Access I can select only limited
columns to print, and usually I will print a list of titles with our
holdings, formats, and locations. We still have the print edition of
Reader's Guide and a few other Wilson indexes, so I keep copies of this
spreadsheet with those. We haven't yet found a need to put it online.
For libraries that can't quite squeeze Serials Solutions (or similar
program) into the budget, a database like this can be very helpful.

Brooke Ward
Serials and Interlibrary Loan Librarian
Florida College Wm. Chatlos Library
Temple Terrace, FL
wardb@floridacollege.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: Mitch Turitz [mailto:turitz@SFSU.EDU]
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 3:06 PM
Subject: Re: Which periodicals does this library subscribe to?

Karyn:

   You, and several others who responded, did not conduct a proper
reference interview for the patron.  Instead of handing a person a
list of all the periodicals, you should ask them, "Is there any
particular title or subject you are looking for?"  If they say, "Yes,
I'm looking for the journal Nature" then you can show them how to
find it in the online catalog and that you may even have it in
electronic format and how to access that.  Many online catalogs allow
you to limit your searches to periodicals and/or electronic resources.

   Why would a patron want a list of ALL the periodicals that the
library subscribes to?  In most cases it would be because they want
to look up a particular title, or subject periodical for their
research.

   We discontinued maintaining a printed list of our periodicals years
ago because it was double-maintenance, essentially duplicating what
is already in our online catalog. The list was also out of date as
soon as it was printed and the online records are kept-to-date on an
almost daily basis. A title-only list usually does not contain the
access points the complete bibliographic OPAC record has, including
subject headings, alternate titles, and former/later titles which the
patrons may not have been aware of.

   So before you rush to reply to the question, think about what the
person is really looking for.

-- Mitch Turitz

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@list=
.uvm.edu] On Behalf Of Karyn Hinkle
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 1:22 PM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] "Which periodicals does this library subscribe to?"

Dear all --

Do you hear as often as I do from library users asking "Which
periodicals d=
oes this library subscribe to?"

<snip>

Thanks for your advice!

Karyn Hinkle

--
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|   |                                               |   |
|   |     Mitch Turitz, Serials Librarian           |   |
|   |     San Francisco State University Library    |   |
|   |                                               |   |
(___)-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-==- ( ___ )
   V                                                   V
"The most important resource in any library goes home at night."

-Tom Galante, at the "Transforming Your Staff" session during
ALA annual, June 2007, Washington, D.C.