Several messages in SERIALST were relayed to  the  Chief  of  the
          Serial Record Division at  LC.   He  asked  that  I  forward  his
          message to the list as a more formal reply to those who expressed
          interest and concern regarding the  new status of  NST  and their
          obligations.  We apologize for  the delay, but  are sure that you
          understand the complications regarding the new status of  NST and
          our desire to make clear your obligations.  We hope that  in  the
          future  those sending messages regarding the  efforts  of  others
          have more respect for those who  are trying to cooperate with the
          needs  of  the  serials community.  Further questions or comments
          should be sent to the originator of the following message.
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          As announced last year, LC found it necessary to reassign the
          staff working on the production of New Serial Titles.  We are
          still publishing NST which includes current LC and CONSER
          cataloging, updates to existing CONSER cataloging, reports of
          microform masters of serials, and reports of additional
          locations.  As our budget situation gets tighter, we are only
          able to input a small number of added locations.  We plan to
          continue the publication of NST in 1994 and beyond but it is
          clear that we are not going to be able to keep up with the number
          of locations reported to us.  The good news is that we can expect
          the number of reports of microform masters to increase.

          Until such time as LC is able to direct more staff resources to
          NST, I request that libraries cease sending reports to NST except
          for microform masters.

          I appreciate each participating library's support of NST and hope
          that you continue to find it a valuable source of serials
          bibliographic information.

          Thank you.

          Kim Dobbs
          Chief, Serial Record Division, Library of Congress
          dobbs@mail.loc.gov