In the previous message re. SERIALST List Administrivia, I made
a couple of references to the "SERIALST Scope & Purpose" document.
Essentially this defines (as its name indicates) use of the list --
along with various instructions for navigating LISTSERV commands
and functions for such things as NOMAIL, DIGEST, et al. settings.
The document also describes several related files and articles
available on SERIALST's fileserver, and a couple of different
options for retrieving information from SERIALST's archives
(however, beware of the gopher index; it hasn't been updated
in several months!).

The SERIALST Scope & Purpose document is sent to all new subscribers
as the SERIALST WELCOME file as soon as individuals sign on to the list.
As it has been periodically updated, I've posted it to the list.  However,
in recent months, the information hasn't changed all that much and thus
I've lapsed in the periodic/serial postings of the revised SERIALST
Scope document(s) to the list -- not least because of its 300+ line length.

The SERIALST Scope & Purpose is still available from the listserv
fileserver as the "SERIALST Welcome" file (to retrieve a plain
text email copy, send a message to:  listserv@uvmvm.uvm.edu
that reads:  get serialst welcome).  More recently, I've been putting
energy into updating and maintaining this same information on the
World Wide Web, where users with web access can more easily browse
whatever section of the Scope & Purpose document they are interested in
by clicking on sections of its Table of Contents.  While the ASCII
text file on the fileserver will not disappear, the web offers another
alternative for access -- with some convenient browsing tools and features
to go with it.

To visit the SERIALST home page (Scope & Purpose, et al.) on the
World Wide Web, point your web browser to:

              http://www.uvm.edu/~bmaclenn/serialst.html

The web page has recently been updated to include a link to SERIALST
subscriber statistics by country (2375+ in 34 countries) and several
direct links to documents offered through SERIALST's fileserver, the
_Newsletter on Serials Pricing Issues_ archives, et al.  Additionally,
several new "mailto:" links have been set up so that visitors to the
web page can now send messages directly to SERIALST (by clicking on
a SERIALST address reference)  or to the LISTSERV  to enter various
commands to adjust mail distribution options for subscriptions (e.g., nomail,
digest, index, etc. -- and only if your web browser address and SERIALST
subscriber address are one and the same!).  Users can also email any
one of the SERIALST moderators via the web page.

It is hoped that subscribers will find these new updates and services
to be of use.

Kind regards,

    Birdie MacLennan
    SERIALST Listowner/Moderator    bmaclenn@uvmvm.uvm.edu
    University of Vermont           bmaclenn@moose.uvm.edu