we use enum/chrono for the vol./date information as it appears on the piece.
At least we started to do this.  Some library individuals became unhappy
with the fact that not all spine labels recorded the information
identically in the same set (sometimes our fault, sometimes variations in
publishing pattern, sometimes due to in-fill volumes having belonged to a
library that did things differently) and so the item records didn't look
identical.  The pressure to make all things neat won out over the ideal
of records exactly matching spine labels.

We can and (on occasion) do use the enum/chrono to produce labels.  It is
essential to be very careful in following data entry directions exactly
(i.e. only put a space where you want a line break) but it works very well.

We do not normally circulate individual issues of periodicals, so there is
no reason for us to item record these.  I assume it would all fit in the
enum/crono area.

We have sometimes used midspine for additional information--e.g.pp.123-243--
but there seems little advantage to this.

We have had no real problems so far with our barcoding of current receipts/
current binding.  The only major problem we have encountered with the
retrospective barcoding is that the sins of the fathers have been
visited on the sons--in other words, we have some people working almost to
the point of burnout on straightening out old problems from long before
any of the current staff worked here.  It does force you to inventory and
get your records in order and every discrepancy becomes a priority
because otherwise barcoding falls further and further behind schedule.

Thomas Sanders, Serials, Auburn University, AL (tsanders@auducvax)