Hello all,

A unique situation (unique to our library, but probably not to some other
libraries) regarding the routing of journals.  We receive our
journals/periodicals in our serials department.  Those journals that
are routed internally within the library have route slips attached and
the journal is sent out.  After making the rounds it is returned to our
serials department and flagged as "returned from routing" in our automated
serials checkin program.  The journal is then treated as other journals
and sent to the current periodicals shelf.

We now have our math department asking if certain or all (still to be
determined) math journals can be routed to their department without
the journal ever going to the current periodicals shelf.  The math department
reasons that their faculty are the only persons who read these journals
and that by sending/routing the journal to the department saves the faculty
from making the trip to the library to view the journals of their interest.

For those libraries that route their journals in this particular manner
would you be able to supply me with the logistics of how you handle
this procedure.  Do you have problems with it?  Is it a troublesome
procedure?  How long before the journals are returned?  Do you route
to individual faculty members or to the department as a separate entity?
Should I have a list of the journals routed?  What about lost or
missing issues - do you purchase the missing item and recover the
costs from the faculty or do you absorb the cost of the missing issues
through your own backfile fund?  Is there anything elese I should worry
about?

I would be happy to receive any information you can provide.  Please
reply to me or to the list.

Many thanks in advance.

Terry Schiissler
Subscription Supervisor
Library Serials Department
University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4S 0A2      CANADA
INTERNET - SCHIISSL@MAX.CC.UREGINA.CA
BITNET - SCHIISSL@UREGINA1
Tel: (306) 585-4409
FAX: (306) 585-4878