> At 01:09 PM 4/16/97 EST, Isabel Brackbill wrote:
>I would like to know how much manpower is generally devoted to claiming
>journals. We are a library with about 1700 active journal subscriptions and
>we are trying to cope with budget cutbacks and to streamline procedures.

 Dear Isabel,
We are a tertiary institute on two campuses with about 40 library
staff altogether.
Our serials dept looks after about 1400 serial titles, about 800
of these are paid.
Our claims are done automatically using URICA.
Staff comprise one Serials Librarian and two full time
assistants who check-in, process (we bar-code every issue, reinforce
some etc.),claim, keep the shelves tidy (we do not bind), and process
invoices.
Our claims used to be manual up until the beginning of this
year. We used to take a screen print from the check-in screen and
occasionally transfer the details to a claim form and post.
Consequently it was almost impossible to pick up any that had just
stopped arriving. We now print the claims automatically once
a week and it takes up to an afternoon to check and post,
although
initially we had a huge number of false claims while the system was
"breaking-in" and this took 2 days to check before posting. The system
goes through a process which generates 3 claims, at intervals,
for each claim and then stops. That means that we now only check the
3rd claim, which by that stage, has become a problem.

The system has its problems as computers do but now we feel we have a
greated control over the collection and would not wish to return to
the manual method.

Hope this helps.
Barbara.

 Barbara Rauch, Serials Librarian-Acquisitions
Library, Auckland Institute of Technology
Private Bag 92006, Auckland, New Zealand
E-Mail:    Barbara.Rauch@ait.ac.nz
Ph: (09)307 9999 extn.8874 Fx: (09)307 9977