Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 11:18:46 -0500
From: Pamela Simpson <p2s@PSULIAS.PSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: JSTOR holdings (Mimi Lempart)

Most electronic journals have this "moving wall" phenomenon, and our check
in systems, which were designed to be a physical inventory system of items
which physically arrive in the mail, are not the appropriate place to keep
up with this information. If we insist on replicating our practices for
print journals for electronic journals even when they don't apply, we will
not be reaping the benefits of the electronic environment. If we are going
to check these things in, we may as well print them out and send them out
to have them bound. Having check in staff go out and check the web to see
if more issues have been mounted,  then record it in a database as if it
has arrived, is a luxury we can't afford. Why do we check in print serials?
So we can keep up with what we have, claim what doesn't arrive, and let
patrons know what has arrived so they know if it's worth trying to track
down the issue. Why would we want to check in electronic serials? Unless
you are "receiving" them through some kind of file transfer and archiving
them, then you have no holdings. We don't have to let patrons know what has
been "received", because they no longer have to wander around in the stacks
looking for issues. We can say instead "CLICK HERE TO VIEW ITEM", and in
the area on the display screen where they are used to seeing holdings,
something like "CHECK WEB SITE FOR HOLDINGS."  (I know we don't all have
hot links from our OPACS yet, but we will surely have them soon, or else
we'll all be switiching to the systems that do have them!)

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Pamela Simpson
Serials and Electronic Resources Cataloging Librarian
E506 Pattee Library
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA  16802-1805
(814) 865-1755  Fax: (814) 863-7293

p2s@psulias.psu.edu
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