This notice has been cross-posted to a few lists and may result in tiresome
reiteration for inveterate listniks. Sorry.
Please reply to sender rather than to the list.

A large monographic reference set, published in parts over a decade, can
present technical challenges to libraries.  _THE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA_, ed.
by Alan F. Poole and Frank B. Gill (Philadelphia: Academy of Natural
Sciences;  Washington, DC: American Ornithologists' Union,  1992--  , ISSN
1061-5466) is just such an animal.

This publication, when finished in 2001, will consist of 720 numbered
fascicles.  Each fascicle is a species account (or "life history") covering a
particular bird.  They are grouped into 18 slipcase volumes of 40 fascicles
each.  There are now three fully published volumes in print with the fourth
nearing completion.  For current volumes-in-progress, subscribers receive
eight species accounts at a time so that five such shipments complete a full
volume.  As you can see, the method of distribution resembles that of a
journal more than anything else.

This format works well for the many private subscribers who use the slipcase
boxes and keep the material unbound at home or at the office.  But since this
is a landmark, peer-reviewed reference tool in the natural sciences and
environmental studies, hundreds of new library subscribers have begun taking
the series as well.

Libraries frequently inquire about the best way to deal with the
eccentricities of _THE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA_  format.  They're looking for
options and recommendations in the areas of acquisitions, cataloging,
binding, and circulation.  What is the best way to handle recurring elements
of the publication such as the contents pages, cumulative indexes, and
corrigenda sheets?  We would like to begin sharing this sort of information
in a more systematic way.

As a service to recent library subscribers--and to others who may have
postponed these decisions--the publisher has surveyed a number of libraries
which have dealt thoughtfully with these handling issues.  We thank those
librarians for sharing their local solutions.  Other libraries can now look
to this information for guidance.  A 4-page summary is available to anyone
for the asking.  Please call or leave a message asking for the "Advice to
Libraries" piece and I'll send it out promptly.

Sincerely,

Paul A. Sonberg
Sales Director
THE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA
Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA  19103-1195

pasonberg@aol.com  (E-mail)
215-493-1607      (Tel.)
215-299-1182      (Fax)