College and Research Libraries


B y F R E D B . R O T H M A N and S I D N E Y D I T Z I O N 

Prevailing Practices in 
Handling Serials 
The supervisor of the serials section, 
Washington Square Library, New York 
University, and the reference assistant in 
charge of the serials division, College of 
the City of New York Library, discuss 
present trends in work with serials. 

SCIENTISTS insist that the first step in the solution of any problem is the 
recognition and formulation of the prob-

lem. A t the first meeting of the A m e r i -

can L i b r a r y Association, the problem of 

the care and handling of serial publica-

tions w a s poised as f o l l o w s : 

If railway companies, and coal companies, 
and hospitals, and colleges, and peniten-
tiaries, and benevolent institutions of every 
sort—to say nothing of historical societies 
and library companies—keep publishing 
their annual reports for another century as 
they publish them now, may it not require 
the most active labor of the best librarian 
in America, to collect, to preserve, to bind, 
to arrange, and catalogue them all? Y e t 
f e w books are more instructive as to special 
matters; f e w more often wanted by a large 
class of readers.1 

Serials Then and Now 

A l t h o u g h the first step w a s taken some 

sixty-three years ago, little real progress 

has been made t o w a r d a solution until 

w i t h i n the last five years. H a v i n g f o r 

the most part obtained insight into the 

vagaries of periodical titles, formats, etc., 

1 Library Journal 1:94, Nov. 30, 1876. 

the profession d r i f t e d into the practice of 

relegating to the last assistant hired, the 

w o r k on periodicals. I t w a s felt that 

since most of the w o r k consisted merely in 

checking in current numbers, anybody 

w o u l d do. B u t n o w , as serial publications 

pour into the libraries, and as the line of 

demarcation between the m u l t i f o r m serial 

and the ordinary periodical becomes more 

difficult to d r a w , the situation is v i r t u a l l y 

reversed. T h e w o r k n o w calls f o r highly 

competent and w e l l trained librarians. 

In 1 9 3 5 , J . H a r r i s G a b l e spoke to the 

C o l l e g e and R e f e r e n c e Section of the 

A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Association on serials 

procedures. H e stressed the increasing 

difficulty of the problem and recom-

mended : 

T h e grouping of all serials functions . . . 
for the following reasons: ( 1 ) the work 
may be more easily and efficiently done 
where the records are kept, ( 2 ) the work 
may be done by trained serials workers, ( 3 ) 
the evil of over-departmentalization cannot 
appear, ( 4 ) there is no unnecessary dupli-
cation of records, ( 5 ) the same persons 
handle all the necessary records, thus elim-
inating possibility of error or duplication of 
material, and ( 6 ) the service to the public 
is greatly improved.2 

In the course of his report, M r . G a b l e 

indicated that only one institution had 

taken any steps in this direction. H e 

erred in minimizing the progress that had 

s Gable, J . Harris. " T h e New Serials Depart-
ment." Library Journal 60:867-71, Nov. 15, 1935-

MARCH, mO 165 



been made. Actually several institutions 
had already investigated the possibilities 
of centralization and had acted upon them 
in varying degrees. Gable made service 
to the public his sixth and last point in 
planning for a reorganization of serials 
procedures; it is our feeling that first 
place should be given to the improvement 
of service to the public, and that economy 
and ease of operation are secondary to this 
end. T h e importance of this distinction 
can best be realized when we glance (as 
we soon shall) at some of the attempts 
made to reorganize the work. 

T h i s report ostensibly is on prevailing 
practices in the handling and care of 
serials. T o give the picture as asked for, 
would be like asking a blind man in a 
dark room to find a black cat that is not 
there. A s a result of the survey, we do 
feel that there is a decided trend toward 
centralization. T h i s trend has taken so 
many forms that it can hardly be called a 
prevailing practice. 

Present Practices 

L e t us look at the two extremes in pres-
ent practices, and from them, go on to the 
outlines of some of the means. On the one 
hand, we find the librarian of a large col-
lege library reporting: 

W e are currently receiving in the neigh-
borhood of only 500 serials. W e have no 
separate periodical or serials room or de-
partment so our serials are handled like 
other accessions, being ordered by the order 
department, cataloged by the catalog de-
partment, and made available for use 
through the circulation department. 

A t the other extreme, we find a univer-
sity library where all serial publications 
are circulated from one point, the serials 
department. T h i s department is made 
responsible for reference and circulation 

work, cataloging and classification, prep-
aration for binding, checking in, and ac-
quisition—including purchase, gift, and 
exchanges. 

W o r k i n g away from the point of ex-
treme centralization, we find a large col-
lege library in which the serials division is 
responsible for the circulation and refer-
ence work, as well as for acquisition and 
binding, but not for the cataloging and 
classification of serials. A t still another, 
all the preparatory work is done by the 
serials division, but it is not responsible 
for the circulation and reference func-
tions. Looking elsewhere, we find libraries 
in which a special division is responsi-
ble for the work with periodicals, but not 
other serials. 

A surprising diversity of practice is 
found in the distinction made among the 
various types of serial publications. E x -
cepting those libraries with organized 
serials divisions, we find it a common prac-
tice to have a periodical division or reading 
room. In most instances, this division is 
responsible for the checking-in and the cir-
culation of periodical material; in some, 
it is also responsible for the preparation of 
this material for the bindery. In other 
words, it has been a common practice in 
the past to distinguish periodicals from all 
other types of library material. W i t h the 
increase of the publication of new and 
diverse types of serials, there has come into 
being an obvious consciousness of the fact 
that serial publications are different from 
books. A s a result, we find many distinc-
tions in the treatment of periodicals, seri-
als, continuations, and serial government 
publications. These distinctions take 
many f o r m s ; some libraries have a periodi-
cal division, document division, continua-
tion division, a serial division, and a gift 
and exchange division. In these libraries 

166 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



the department chosen to handle the ma-
terial is determined not only by form but 
by source as well. Part of a set is ordered 
and handled in one department, at least 
as f a r as its early processes are concerned; 
another part of the same set is received by 
gift or exchange and passes through an-
other department for the early stages of 
preparation. 

If there is any reason at all for distin-
guishing periodicals from books insofar 
as treatment and handling are concerned, 
there is more reason for making the dis-
tinction for all serial publications in their 
entirety. Periodicals are by definition 
fairly regular publications, appearing at 
specified intervals. T r u e though it is that 
changes in format, title, and frequency 
raise problems now and then, these prob-
lems do not compare in difficulty with the 
problems normally encountered in the use, 
acquisition, cataloging, and classification of 
irregular serial publications. If distinc-
tions are made among periodicals, serials, 
continuations, and government documents, 
the distinction in and of itself breeds a 
difficulty inherent in the fact that, regard-
less of the care with which definitions are 
prepared, borderline cases must be numer-
ous. A broad line of demarcation, that 
between serial and nonserial material, 
offers the least possible source of difficulty. 

Present Trend 

A l l in all, we find that twelve of 
twenty-two large college and university 
libraries have a serials division which is 
staffed by from three to nineteen persons. 
Seven of these are independent depart-
ments which are coordinated in various 
ways with other departments of the li-
brary. Substantially the same situation, 
with some variations, is found among the 
medium-sized college libraries where seven 

out of fifteen libraries reported that they 
had a serials division. In the small college 
library, and in the medium and small pub-
lic libraries, the situation is somewhat dif-
ferent. In these instances, there is a much 
greater degree of natural centralization of 
duties, by virtue of the fact that the staff 
is small. T h e result is that the benefits of 
centralization of duties are present with-
out formal organization. 

A Rare Approach 

W e have pointed out that the problems 
involved in the handling and care of seri-
als have long been recognized. T h e r e 
have been several attempts made to meet 
these problems. These remedial measures,, 
as a rule, have been taken at the point of 
immediate provocation, viz., the acquisi-
tion of material. R a r e indeed has been 
the approach from the reader's point of 
view. T h e incomplete, the inaccurate, the 
confused, the inverted reference to serial 
publications and the resultant difficulties 
encountered by the reader have not yet 
struck the library administration where it 
would be most evident. Is it possible to 
achieve a simplification of procedure which 
will satisfy at once the needs of its read-
ers and simplify the library's administra-
tive problems? 

If the approach is any other but that of 
service to the reader, we find situations 
wherein a special assistant (or assistants) 
is made responsible for the acquisition of 
serials. Special records for serials only 
are kept in the acquisition department. 
When the problem reaches the catalog de-
partment, we find a special assistant (or 
assistants) assigned to meet it. Frequent-
ly we find a special serials catalog designed 
to meet the problem. B y the time the 
material is made available for use, 
additional records, available to reference 

MARCH, 1940 167 



assistants and to the reader, are found nec-
essary. W e find plans wherein special lists 
of serials are kept and checked in the refer-
ence division. W e find systems wherein 
each time new pieces are added to the col-
lection, their acquisition must be noted on 
each entry for the set in the public catalog. 
W e find that each piece that offers a spe-
cial problem is delayed on its w a y through 
the mill, and among serials there are many 
pieces that offer special problems. A n -
other perplexing problem arises w i t h such 
a set-up. Departmental bias must of nec-
essity play its part in v a r y i n g degrees in 
the treatment of the material. 

W h a t happens when w e centralize these 
various steps in one department? It is at 
the point where circulation and reference 
w o r k meet that centralization makes itself 
felt most in the college library. Reference 
as to serials takes many and varied forms. 
T h e sources of these references may be 
footnotes in books or articles, an offhand 
remark by an instructor or student, or 
more formal bibliographies, or indexes. 
In some cases the source may be an ana-
lytic entry in the library catalog. In many 
instances the source may be responsible for 
an incomplete reference; in others, the 
reader may present an inaccurate refer-
ence. Reference librarians are all familiar 
w i t h requests such a s : " L e a g u e of N a -
tions. V I, 1 9 3 7 " when the reader w a n t s 
L e a g u e of Nations. M i x e d Committee 
on N u t r i t i o n . Interim R e p o r t V 1 ; or, 
the Thirty-first Yearbook of the N . E . A . 
when the student means the N . S . S . E . 
Thirty-first Yearbook. W e all know the 
student w h o looks under " D " in the cata-
log for the D e p a r t m e n t of E l e m e n t a r y 
School Principals Yearbook, which is 
entered under N a t i o n a l Education Associ-
a t i o n — D e p a r t m e n t of E l e m e n t a r y School 
Principals. T h e n there is the instructor 

w h o refers his students to " a bulletin of 
the U n i v e r s i t y of I o w a , " which issues some 
twenty different series. E x a m p l e s such as 
these could be multiplied indefinitely. 
T h e fact remains that all too often pro-
viding the reader w i t h needed material 
requires a thorough knowledge of the seri-
als collection. Such a knowledge can be 
acquired in a fair-sized library only by 
those w h o handle the material frequently 
and constantly. A member of the staff, 
w h o prepares, or sees the original order 
for material, w h o plays some part in the 
checking-in of the material, w h o is closely 
associated w i t h cataloging and classifica-
tion, and w i t h the binding process, must of 
necessity be more familiar w i t h the ma-
terial than an assistant w h o does not see 
it until it is ready for the shelves. 

O n e of the objections raised to the cen-
tralization of w o r k w i t h serials is that 
many libraires have organized subject de-
partments for the use of readers. O n e 
need not interfere w i t h the other. In 
virtually every instance where there is a 
serials division in a library, there are also 
subject departments. T h e only difference 
is that the serials division handles these 
serial publications up to the point where 
they go to the shelves; only at that time 
are they sent to the subject department. 
In other words, serials f a l l i n g within the 
scope of a departmental collection are sep-
arated from serials in the main collection 
for purposes of shelving and circulation. 

Economy of Administration 

W e have stressed service to the reader, 

but ease and economy from the adminis-

trative point of v i e w are also present. 

T h e y are present because by centraliza-

tion the duplication of records can be 

eliminated. T h e serials catalog is no 

longer a mere catalog record. I t is also 

1 6 8 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



a record of acquisition, a record of loca-
tion, a record of gaps—in short, a com-
plete record of all the information neces-
sary for the acquisition, treatment, and 
use of material. Centralization means 
that the material need not be held up as it 
travels from point to point. T h e difficul-
ties attendant upon the handling of a par-
ticular title can be resolved once, for all 
purposes, and the title made available to 
the reader. 

Centralization also means economy be-
cause members of the staff are not assigned 
merely to an acquisition of material, the 
cataloging of material, or to reference 
w o r k . T h e y are assigned to all of these. 
Functional concentration can be shifted to 
that particular point where the pressure is 
greatest at any particular time. W e all 

know of the situation, where, at a given 
time, the acquisition w o r k may be eased, 
while the catalog department is over-
whelmed, or vice versa. W e k n o w that 
there may be a time of the year when lit-
tle buying or cataloging is done, but there 
is great pressure on the circulation and 
reference staff. T h e result usually is that 
each department is staffed according to the 
needs of its peak period of w o r k , w i t h a 
resultant loss in quiet periods. W i t h cen-
tralization, there is no such loss. 

A s a result of the survey that has been 
made of methods used in the care and 
handling of serials in one hundred and 
twenty-six college, university, and public 
libraries, w e find that complete centraliza-
tion of functions relating to serials offers 
the best solution of vexing problems. 

Audio-visual Aids and the Library 
(Continued from page 146) 

T o buy audio-visual equipment of all 
the types implied in the outline above, i.e., 
small portable public address system, 
radio, silent motion picture projector, 
stereoscopes or telebinocular, opaque pro-
jector, stereopticons, film strip projector, 
record players to operate at 7 8 and 3 3 } 
r.p.m., sound motion picture projector, 
sound slide film p r o j e c t o r — t o buy one of 
the smaller models of each of these types 
of apparatus w o u l d cost something like 
$ 1 0 0 0 . A s suggested above, in a large 
institution many departments should dup-
licate most of this equipment. 

Conclusion 

T h i s discussion assumes that audio-

visual aids are now too valuable and too 
widely used to be ignored by any f o r w a r d -
looking educational agency. I t recognizes 
audio-visual aids as a special type of book, 
and hence takes the position that the li-
brarian is the logical person to service 
them, even if this involves some slight 
additions to his professional training. 
Certain visual aids have long been 
library serviced. Recently a f e w libraries 
have undertaken a more complete audio-
visual program. T h e Peabody D e m o n -
stration School L i b r a r y is a case in point. 
W e believe that the next decade w i l l see 
school and college libraries emerging as 
centers of a finer audio-visual education 
program than has thus far been developed. 

MARCH, 1940 

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169