Serials folks:
Previously I posted a message to a publisher who had, in my opinion, an
unnecessary title change, and the response from the publisher. Once
again I decided to share another positive response from a publisher whom I
sent a similar message.
Anyone who wants to copy my message and edit it to send out to other
publishers may do so. I also recommend sending copies of the excellent
brochure "What's in a name" (pub by the Serials Section of ALCTS of ALA)
to your favorite publishers who favor title changes.
see below. -- Mitch
========================forwarded message====================================
Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 14:01:45 -0400
From: Sfreview@aol.com
To: turitz@sfsu.edu
Subject: Re: title change: SF Review
Dear Mitch Turitz,
Wow! Thank you for all the information. I will definitely discuss with those
who control such things. I actually was against the name change myself. This
is very interesting stuff. I appreciate your having taken the time to send
it.
Sincerely,
Matthew Humphrey, editor
The San Francisco Review
582 Market St., 13th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94104
415-403-1330, fax:415-403-1339
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 10:08:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mitch Turitz <turitz@sfsu.edu>
To: sfreview@aol.com
Subject: title change: SF Review
Dear Editor:
As a Serials Librarian for San Francisco State University, I recently
was given the May/June 1996 issue of San Francisco Review, formerly the
San Francisco Review of Books. Although, as a publisher you have every
right to call your publication whatever you wish, I would like to point
out the reasons why you should not consider a title change again in the
future (and no, I am not asking you to change the title back):
Why are title changes a problem?
* Your hard-earned identity may be lost
* Title changes cost libraries money to recatalog and reshelve the title
* In collections which are shelved by title, your publication may be
split up among its various titles (fortunately this did not happen with
your title change - the two titles will live next to one another,
however, there will be some confusion, as there is a "dead" serial title
from 1958-1962 also called "San Francisco Review").
* By calling attention to your title, a title change may trigger a
library to reevaluate its need for your publication.
WHAT IF I STILL WANT TO CHANGE THE TITLE?
* Make the change at the beginning of a volume--this helps with
reshelving and binding
* Explain the change to your readers in advance, if possible
* Request a new ISSN (see below for more info)
* Keep the same numbering scheme unless you change the scope of the
publication
* Avoid incremental changes; for example: gradually shrinking the old
title while gradually enlarging the new title over a series of issues;
instead, make a clean break
I noticed that your new title, THE SAN FRANCISCO REVIEW has the same ISSN
on it that the old title has. This is NOT permitted by the National
Information Standards Organization (NISO) and by the NATIONAL SERIALS
DATA PROGRAM (of the Library of Congress) which assigns ISSNs. You MUST
get a new ISSN for your new title.
The ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) is a unique,
internationally-used identification number for serial publications. It
can be thought of as the social security number of the serials world. It
looks like this: ISSN 1234-5672. ISSNs are assigned by a network of
almost 60 centers world-wide. The address and phone number of the one
you should contact is:
National Serials Data Program
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540-4160
(202) 707-6452
WHY WOULD I WANT AN ISSN?
* To distinguish your title from any others with which it might be confused
* To help libraries and others who handle large numbers of serial orders
to check in your title so it can get to users more quickly
* To help users search automated files
and, of course, it is FREE!
I do appreciate that for approximately the last 20 years your publication
has been consistent and did not have any title changes in that time.
However, before you consider any title changes in the future, I would
hope that you consider the above-mentioned points.
One final point. Before making a title change, you should research the
new title to see if anyone else either is using the title or if a "dead'
publication was known by that title. In your case, the SAN FRANCISCO
REVIEW was a publication from 1958-1962 published by J.O. Deghan. When
choosing a title you should:
* Be unique to avoid confusion with other publications
* Be distinctive
* Be concise
* Have important identifying words at the beginning to help readers find
your title in large files and catalogs
* Avoid words indicating frequency, since frequencies can change
* Avoid initialisms or acronyms; their filing location is unpredictable.
The above was copied in part from the brochure: "What's in a name?
Presentation guidelines for serial publications" published by The Serials
Section of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services,
A Division of the American Library Association.
Sincerely,
Mitch Turitz
Serials Librarian
_^_ _^_
( ___ )-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-( ___ )
| | | |
| | Mitch Turitz, Serials Librarian | |
| | San Francisco State University Library | |
| | Internet: turitz@sfsu.edu | |
| | | |
( ___ )-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-==-( ___ )
V V
Rule #1: Don't sweat the small stuff.
Rule #2: It's ALL small stuff.
