Date:         Wed, 4 Nov 1992 17:22:00 EST
From: AV691%ALBNYVMS.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject:      Re: Journals with Discs (Beryl Smith)

        In reply to Beryl Smith's inquiry about journals with diskettes,
etc.:  This is how we are handling them at SUNY Albany.

1.  Our journals do not circulate.  They are kept in the Periodicals Room.
The diskettes or other media are kept in the Interactive Media Center, and
patrons have to check them out to use them.  In this sense, they do circu-
late.  However, most are probably used in the Media Center, where the
equipment is.  The circulation periods vary with different formats.  If
patrons have computers, CD players, etc. outside the library, they can
take them out.  They would probably have had to photocopy the correspon-
ding article in the Periodicals Area.  ( This answers # 1, 2, & 6)

2 - 5.  Although the Interactive Media Center does make circulating copies
for some of the monographic media, we have not been doing that for media
that came with periodical issues.  We are waiting to see if there is a
problem.

7.  So far I have cataloged 4 periodicals with media -- two with diskettes,
one with CD's, and one with videos.  Several more await cataloging, mostly
with disks, either 5 1/4 floppies or 3 1/2 hard disks.

        Our experience is that it takes a lot of training and explaining
for check-in and processing staff and anyone else who will use them or
explain them to patrons, etc.  The journal issues are still periodicals,
but the media supplements are treated more like serial added volumes.
Each one gets a barcode and an item record.  So the catalog records are a
sort of hybrid animal which can be very confusing.  The processing is
confusing too, so many little labels!  By the way, we had Gaylord create
copyright warning labels in a reduced size which will even fit on the
3 1/2" disks.  They are 1" high and 2 3/4 " wide, and we are very satis-
fied with them.

Annalisa Van Avery, SUNY Albany.        av691@albnyvms