This is probably of no value at this late date, but I was going back thru
my remaining mail and found the reply from Dana about the shelf dummies.
My question is
Just how large is your periodicals holdings, (by title and number of years)?

Ingram Library currently has approximately 4000 periodical records.  Only
1550 are currently being received.  If we had to put a dummy on the shelf
for every one of the title changes we have, there would be little room
for journal issues.  (Yes, we shelve by title).  If patrons cannot find
an issue of something on the shelf, and they really do want the material,
they will certainly be smart enough* to go to one of our 30+ computers and
determine if we have the material.

(*Perhaps they aren't computer literate, but they do find help at either
the circulation desk or the reference desk.)

Debbie Harrell
Ingram Library, State University of West Georgia
phone: 770-836-6498
fax: 770-836-6626

On Wed, 21 Aug 1996, Dana Belcher wrote:

> Pat Thompson states:
>
> > My first question is somewhat specific:  In a collection arranged by title,
> > is it common practice to put "dummies" in the shelves linking former and
> > later titles?  We have been doing this to aid the users in the stacks.  The
> > titles are, of course, linked in our catalog, but our practice has been to
> > aid the browser in the stacks.  One argument against this is that a user
> > with a citation will have the correct title, and so doesn't need to know
> > the related titles.
>
> I think we need to be wary of the assumption that each and every
> citation is correct.  I work in an environmental library, and we
> constantly have problems with correct citations.  For example, _The
> Journal-Water Pollution Control Federation_ has changed and split
> many times with the original title now being nonexistent.  Yet, we
> still find current citations for this journal title.  If you are going
> to shelve by title, it is imperative that you use dummies to show
> former and changed to titles.  Without this "value added" service, you
> will be doing your patrons a disservice.  Yes, you have them linked in
> your catalog, but not all patrons will look at the catalog.  If they
> have a specific title in mind, they will more than likely go to the
> current reading room and browse it instead of looking in the catalog.
> Also, it is much easier to see the changes on the shelf than to have to
> look at several data screens on the OPAC.
>
> Once you bind and put the periodicals in the stacks, this problem
> should become obsolete.  That is, if you are classifying the linked
> titles in similar fashion, and they will then end up side by side on
> the shelf.
>
> Dana Belcher, Library Technician
> USEPA SPRD Library (contractor staffed)
> 919 Kerr Research Dr.
> Ada, OK 74820
>
> 405/436-8639
> 405/436-8503 (fax)
> belcher@ad3100.ada.epa.gov
>