Michigan Tech has a Serials Management File on the IBM mainframe.  The
file uses SQL.  Data include titles publishers, package deals, price,
whether the title is designated for undergraduate, research, or peda-
gogical use, plus fields for ordering, source, frequency--these last
several fields used by our Technical Services-acquisitions people.  We can
generate departmental lists of titles.  Interdisciplinary groups share a title
and the cost.  A cut level is set, eg. 10% of total cost.  Departments
are asked to meet that level.  Shared titles are indicated on the lists
by the reduced cost which is prorated among the sharing departments.  When
one of these titles is cut by one dept. the other dept/s are notified and
we negotiate.  It works to an extent.  The problems: the depts which get
a lot of bounced titles from other depts. have trouble meeting their
initial 10% level.  Also, depts., such as Physics, or Mathematical Sciences,
which cover broad areas and service all depts. have problems compared to
those depts. with narrow areas, eg. metallurgy and materials, or geology.
So far, during two major cuts, one in 1986-87 and the other this spring and
summer, the system has worked.