Marilyn,

Where to start!?!?

I've been working with serials off & on (mostly on) for almost 25
years.  Starting in high school, then public libraries, academic,
corporate, and legal (+ variations) libraries.  Part of what still
gets me up in the morning is the variety and challenge of a
constantly changing environment.  I always thought of monographs as a
bit boring whereas working with serials has a built in chaos
factor.  Title changes, frequency changes, format options,
cessations, mergers, cataloging rules, price increases, receipt
issues, delivery breakdowns, vendor/publisher relations, claiming,
shrinking staffing, new/upgrading software & tools...  The list seems
infinite.

Many librarians view serials as way too much trouble to specialize in
but for me they're interesting, kind of like the Chinese proverb "May
you live in interesting times" but in a good way!

Hope this helps and I'm happy to add more if you have specific questions.

Pat Meyer
Library Technician, Serials Unit
San Diego State University Library
pmeyer@rohan.sdsu.edu
(Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 4:00 pm)
voice (619) 594.6798
fax (619) 594.4093

At 07:18 AM 3/4/2009, you wrote:
>Hello all,
>
>Later this month, I will be participating in a discussion on veteran
>employees and what continues to motivate them.
>
>I'd like some feedback from veterans in the field -- comments,
>observations and even suggestions.
>
>I am especially interested in comments from community college serialists.
>
>Thanks in advance for your assistance.
>
>***************************
>Marilyn Carney, MLS
>Health Sciences & Serials Services Librarian
>
>Health Sciences Library
>Wake Technical Community College
>2901 Holston Lane
>Raleigh, NC 27610
>Phone: (919) 747-0003
>FAX: (919) 250-4329
>
>Email : mmcarney@waketech.edu
>***************************
>
>