I am awed and impressed by some libraries' elaborate systems for
pulling for binding!  At SUNY Albany we tried using a printed list, but
found that creating, maintaining and using such a list was just too labor
intensive.  We are very short-staffed, and it was easier and more
productive to simply walk through the periodical area looking for what
needs binding.

     Currently we have a very simple system for periodicals.  We have a
schedule of call number ranges.  Some areas are known to be very heavily used,
like business, and some are known for the rapid proliferation of loose issues,
like the sciences.  These ranges are pulled several times a year.  Other areas
are visited once a year.  The clerks try to bind the most heavily used titles
during intersessions or in the summer.

     Neither the check-in clerks in Acquisitions nor the student shelvers in
the Periodicals Room have time to send notes or do the pulling.  There is one
clerk who pulls in the Main periodical area, one responsible for reference and
government docs, and one in the branch library.  They each schedule it as
best they can.

     The Periodicals Room and Reference Office get copies of the bind slips,
to be informed about what is out for binding.  SUNY Albany has about 6000
periodical subscriptions.  I don't know how many abstracts and indexes and
other bindable serials we also receive, but it must be some hundreds.  By
closely watching the binding budget, I keep an eye on pulling, and send "pull
more" or "slow down" messages as needed.  The budget dictates distribution
of funds among the parts of the library, including preservation as well as
all the new serials and periodicals.

     Annalisa Van Avery
     Periodicals cataloger & Head, Physical Processing & Bindery Dept.
     SUNY at Albany            Bitnet:  av691@albnyvms