2 messages, 47 lines:

(1)--------------------------
Date:         Wed, 1 May 1996 18:21:52 -0400
From:         Barbara Eastland <eastland@MAX.MUHLBERG.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Too many claims? / Fine-tuning the claims process

Anne-Marie:
        If you generated only 18 claims in one calendar year, I think
you've gotten extremely good service from Ebsco for your dollar.
Further, if your head librarian thinks 18 claims is too many, he/she
needs to sit at your desk and do serials work for several weeks!  Our
collection--currently moving from Kardex to automated--is perhaps 5 times
as large as yours, and I routinely generate 10-20 claims per MONTH
(especially at the beginning of the calendar year when computer screw-ups
lose our subscription renewals.)
        As Freya stated earlier, sometimes the only way to get results is
to claim repeatedly for those items that you've gotten no response for.
That is, after all, one of the services that the vendor contracts for.
I wish you luck, and keep claiming.

Cordially,
Barb Eastland, serials
Muhlenberg College
Allentown  PA
eastland@max.muhlberg.edu

(2)-------------------------
Date:         Wed, 1 May 1996 16:51:42 -0600
From:         Kathy Fisher <kathy.fisher@MANTARAY.LANL.GOV>
Subject:      Re: Too many claims? / Fine-tuning the claims process

Anne-Marie,

I don't believe that 18 claims for 155 titles is out of line. At our library
we receive about 1850 titles and we have an average of 115 claims per week
(about 450 issues are received each week).  I have been busy trying to set
up our system to predict the "expected dates" of the issues as closely as
possible, but I don't think that there is a way to "fine tune" the
predictions as they don't always arrive consistently.  Claiming too early
seems to be lot more effective than claiming too late.

Kathleen Fisher
Serials Receiving
Research Library MS P362
P.O. Box 7113
Los Alamos, NM  87544-7113