Please forgive the duplication between Autocat and Serialst.

   We have worked all summer to catalog our serials (3000 titles) and put
them online.  Our checkin system was manual before this, and as you can
imagine, many mistakes had been made over time (title changes ignored,
holdings attached to the wrong card, etc....).  Since our serials had never
been cataloged, they had not been classified either.  They were shelved by
title (yes, often the oldest title in the run...).

   We're finally clearing these problems up, and have practically decided
that classification is the best and easiest way for us to go.  Otherwise,
we'd have to relabel and rebind MANY volumes.  The call number would be
consistent throughout the title's run, thus keeping it together in spite
of title changes.  Of course, the scenario would change if the emphasis of the
journal changed.  Please note that the rest of our collection is classified.

   What I would like to know is the following:

If your library decided to classify the serials after not having done so,
how labor-intensive was it?  How did your patrons react to the change?  Did
you give them plenty of notice?  When you did finally do it, did you regret
it?

And for those who have decided not to classify your serials, why not?

Thanks ahead of time!

Kathy Johnson
Asst. Tech. Services Libn.               kjohnson@gettysburg.edu
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg, PA  17325                    717-337-7017