I should have clarified that!  We use Millennium and we haven't
investigated whether our "browse by call number" search will work with
checkin (holdings) records or item (volumes) records.  But yes, we would
classify each title, not each volume.

Buddy Pennington
Serial Acquisitions Librarian
University of Missouri - Kansas City
800 East 51st Street
Kansas City, MO  64110
Phone: 816-235-1548
Fax: 816-333-5584
Email: penningtonb@umkc.edu

UMKC University Libraries: Discovery. Knowledge. Empowerment.

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@list.uvm.edu] On Behalf Of Patricia Thompson
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 2:01 PM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Classifying periodicals in closed stacks

When you assign a classification number to a periodical, you assign
it to the title, not to individual volumes or issues. Usually the
item records for the bound volumes (or the checkin record or holdings
record or whatever kind of record your system uses to keep track of
the issues) is attached to that bib record. There should be someplace
you can insert a classification number that will display on your
screen for the periodical title. If your system requires that call
numbers have to be in each item record, and will not display a
bib-level call number, then perhaps there some kind of "rapid update"
function which makes it relatively easy to insert a field into a
group of item records, so you would not have to type that call number
into the record for each volume.

Or, if your system does not have that, then take a look at the
display in your public catalog. Usually people will not be looking at
the record for an individual volume of a periodical. They will be
viewing the record for the title. Usually the holdings record will
show first, before the list of all the bound volumes, and perhaps the
call number can display from that.

How it shows up on the screen to the user depends on the system, but
regardless of whether each volume has a classification number, you
are classifying the entire title. You just don't have to print labels
so the bound volumes won't require any work.

Pat Thompson

At 10:04 AM 3/10/2009, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>
>
>Our periodicals are currently on open shelves and are arranged by
title.
>We are in the process of building an automated storage and retrieval
>system (ASRS) that will house all of our bound periodicals. We were
>planning on classifying the currently received print periodicals to
>create a periodicals reading area that would be browsable by subject.
We
>were not planning on classifying the bound volumes.
>
>
>
>However, one of our public services librarians is now proposing that
all
>of the periodicals be classified for the library catalog (we wouldn't
>print labels because the ASRS will not physically house the materials
by
>call number). Her argument for doing this project is that if most of
the
>materials are in closed stacks, users will browse virtually by call
>number in the catalog.  If the noncurrent periodicals are not
classified
>they will not be included in this virtual browsing.  I have some doubts
>as to the real benefits of this project.  My experience with browsing
>has been that users either want to know what's current (browsing
current
>periodical issues) or are browsing for something they can pull off the
>shelf and check out (books, DVDs, etc.).  I am not sure that users are
>interested in browsing bound periodical volumes.  They typically have a
>citation in hand when they need to get their hands on a bound
>periodical.
>
>
>
>I would like to know if any libraries out there have either done this
or
>considered doing this (classifying periodicals prior to moving to
closed
>stacks or remote storage) within the last five years.  If you did so,
do
>you feel like the benefits were worth the cost of the project?  Thanks.
>
>
>
>Buddy Pennington
>
>Serial Acquisitions Librarian
>
>University of Missouri - Kansas City
>
>800 East 51st Street
>
>Kansas City, MO  64110
>
>Phone: 816-235-1548
>
>Fax: 816-333-5584
>
>Email: penningtonb@umkc.edu
>
>
>
>UMKC University Libraries: Discovery. Knowledge. Empowerment.
>
>

Patricia R. Thompson
Assistant University Librarian for Resource Management Services
duPont Library
University of the South
Sewanee, TN 37383
931-598-1657
pthompso@sewanee.edu