Serials sisters/brothers in arms...

Last week I took a cataloging sound recordings class. I never knew that there would be another group in the library world like serialists...who are thrown into just as many odd situations and subjected to the quirks of publishers as we are.


Apparently, most of the cataloging for sound recordings is done from the piece in hand and not just copy cataloged. The information that is mandatory for each piece is sometimes not available since the cataloger is supposed to rely on the item itself (i.e. the cassette, CD, etc) and then go to the container and lastly resort to any printed material that accompanies it. We did examples of several different types of sound recordings and you would think that the industry would display the "standard" items like title, series and such on each piece or container. But, like serials, we had a merry chase determing these things on some of the items in question.


As if that was not enough to drive any sane person to distraction, the sound cataloger has to decide if it is a collection of works, if the sound recording is dominated by a principal peformer or the work of one person or a corporate body. There is a decision tree for this, but 2 catalogers looking at the same piece might, justifiably, arrive at different conclusions.


It would seem that the largest print might be the title, right? Wrong. Apparently the largest or most prominent typeface may just be a performer or narrator and not actually the title itself.


Then we come to dates. Now, here is where things parallel serials quite well. In serials there is publication date and cover chronology. Publishers do not feel compelled to make sure these match. In sound recordings they have something similar -- there might be an original recording date and a release date. And to throw one more twist in, if the item is a spoken version of a book or play, there is also the date of the publication for the print item. And it is often left up to the mercy of the cataloger to figure out which is what. Again, there is the emphasis on using the piece in hand as your primary source of information. If there are dates with no notes next to them it can be tricky to figure out which date goes to the recording, the book/play and the release date.


As for mediums, the sound cataloger has more types to be potentially tortured by than serialists do. There is something called a playaway, which is a self-contained sound recording. They also have to deal with items on the internet, as well as 8 tracks, cassettes, something called dual discs, mini cds, dvd audios, cd-roms, midi files, mp3 files and shaped discs. Unlike serials, though, they might have to catalog each piece separately, even if it is in a series. The poor cataloger working with each of these items also has to describe the physical item as well, sometimes in a note when measurements do not make things clearer.


Oh, and did I mention that if it is a musical sound recording there are different rules for if the piece is an artist's interpretation of the work, like popular music, rock and jazz or if the performer is merely executing the work, like classical music? Or that if it is a book with a readalong sound component...it is up to the cataloger which is primary -- the book or the audio....And on it goes...!


I think there should be a retreat for befuddled serialists or sound catalogers. Those who strive valiantly in the cause of making items accessible to patrons, but who are inevitably driven to distraction or even insanity due to the publishers and distributors who endeavor to make themselves and their works as clear as mud as often as possible...!

Hidden enumeration

It might be too much to ask for a standardization of where enumeration and chronology are placed on a journal. So, I am content to hunt for it on the spine, the front cover, the back cover, the title page or within the publishing information. I have found a pattern of the news and sports magazines putting this information at the end of the editorial section on the last page and that is all right too. I am befuddled, though, at the publishers who cannot consistently put this information in one place. It might hold allure as a scavenger hunt for my assistants if it happened only occassionally, but....it has become a pattern for several journals. There is an entertainment magazine that I have given up predicting enumeration for. I only do cover chronology for that title anymore.

Frequency versus Cover Chronology

I understand that some journals actually use words in their titles to denote how often something is published....like Journal A Weekly, Journal X Quarterly and et cetera. I think, however, that some publishers think that frequency related words in the title are not tied to how often something is published. In general, I try not to pick on individual titles, but there is a math journal that is titled "______ Quarterly" that publishes 5 issues nearly every year. Then there is the classical journal (also called "quarterly") that publishes only 2 issues per volume. My favorite, though, is one in the management field that is called _______ Quarterly, but publishes 6 issues per volume. Have these publishers not heard of special issues? And shouldn't they change their titles to reflect the scope of the journal (as well as the frequency)?

The Dangers of Serials Work

Despite the preconceptions people have about library workers and the quiet environment surrounded by books, dust and antiquarians, the reality for serials workers is much different. The reality of serials work is that it is fraught with dangers: paper cuts, envelope cuts, broken nails from trying to pry open the "easy open" plastic sheafs the journals arrive in, dry skin, the risk of tetanus when dealing with staples and the most dreaded of all -- microfiche cuts. Since microfiche is so much thinner than paper, it is sharp and does cut if you are rifling through a drawer's worth of fiche.

Serials in other formats

Serials are a bit of a challenge when presented in formats other than print. Space issues demand that other formats exist. But there are issues that arise.

• Databases don't always include graphics or tables. Also, due to the Tasini case, some freelance work is not included in proprietary databases (though that may change due to the recent ruling in the Georgia case on e-reserves). Additionally, product ads, classified ads and stock tickers are often not included. These exclusions make it a challenge for patrons that are looking for those items and access is not available.


• Microforms are actually a great format, but some in the library community keep trying to sound the death knell of these formats because of digitization. I've been in serials for 8 years and we just bought yet another microform reading machine and so I am skeptical about the impending obsolescence of this material type. The machine we bought will allow editing and saving as .pdf files and that has come in handy.


• Electronic access to publisher sites through urls are problematic and depend on a whole host of issues in order to make sure that access is kept available and consistent.

I know that "print" serials will disappear, but access to the other formats of serials will also become obsolete and we will still need ways to utilize those "older" formats and access the same information contained there. Not to sound like a troglodyte, but it is so much easier to "access" information if you can go to the shelf, pull down the volume and open it to the correct page.

Editors, Publishers and Numbering

There must be a place in the universe somewhere that editors gather and conspire on making arbitrary changes to serials that will frustrate library workers. It would amuse me to be able to work for a publisher for 6 months or so to see if decisions really are carefully thought out or completely arbitrary in some cases.

One case that comes to mind is the weekly magazine that changed publishers and decided to start over with volume 1 at that point. The magazine got so many complaints about this decision (from libraries) that after volume 3 it went back to the old numbering as if volumes 1 through 3 never existed and there had been continuous numbering all along (it was on volume 176 when it changed publishers and went to volume 180 right after year 3). I can imagine what a mess this made for catalogers since it certainly made trying to get the MARC records to display correctly in the ILS a challenge.

Another journal, this time in the science field, that caused great concern was one that just dropped all numbering and chronology altogether. After 3 or 4 months the publisher did put the chronology back onto the cover, but it made it hard to check in an item that had no enumeration and no chronology! The journal editor did write a piece in one of the issues about why the change was made -- to make the journal appear current no matter when someone picked it up.

Name changes and splits

I think the one that comes to mind for name changes would be a journal that is in the education field and changed its title 5 times -- alternating back and forth between two titles. And then there is my favorite one in the physics field that split into sections A-G, but spun off even more with the subsections splitting off as well. That title wound up with 17 titles!

Odd regular, irregular and unknown publishing

It seems reasonable to me that a publisher would have some sort of timeline in mind when publishing a serial. I understand that there are subjects where few articles are generated and it takes a while to amass enough to publish. That should be when irregular or odd regular publishing schedules are utlilized. There are a couple of publishers who seem to take great delight, though, in publishing at such odd intervals that it makes trying to create a receipt pattern or a chronology pattern in an ILS nigh to impossible.

I once had an 8 year lag between cover chronology and actual chronology. Right now there are at least a dozen publications that are subscribed to by my library that are at least 2 years or more behind schedule. At what point does the publisher give up on back dating the cover and just deal with the year it actually is? When I received that 1992 issue back in 2000 I was befuddled. I had to hunt through old Kardex cards and through the catalog to find the record needed and then update everything. The situation became even odder when the publisher then decided to skip those intervening years and pick up with 2001 cover chronology!

Prepub web publishing of serials contents

Prepublishing onto a proprietary website or database the can create a problems for people dealing with serials. The main problem is that professors see the abstract or the advertising for the website and automatically assume that the library or corporation has access to the full content. There is often a time lag between when it is prepublished on that proprietary website and the availability of print or electronic access elsewhere. The serials person is then left trying to hunt down some other means of access or document delivery and can result in an irate patron who needed access when it was first requested.

Size changes of issues

I am sure there are good reasons for changing the physical size of a serial. Normally, this is a not an issue. :) However, those publishers who change sizes during the middle of a volume create havoc. Then the issue will not display in a stack very well. It causes minor problems when binding as well. And sometimes the format or layout is changed sufficiently that it complicates trying to find something in the newer issues. And then there are always the publishers that change sizes for one or two issues and then revert back to the original size -- causing a whole another set of nightmares.

Roman Numerals

Roman numerals are always a fun thing to deal with. I was fortunate enough to have taught seven classes (in one day) on Roman numerals once. Since they are pretty standard it is no problem for me to read them. However, sometimes the patrons or my assistants are not able to get a handle on what symbol stands for which number. And then there is always the fun that is created when the publisher loses track of where they are and then places whatever one they want (or so it seems) on the issue. Then there are the publishers who insist on using "X" as many times as they want -- disregarding the regular rules and making me have to go "ok, was that X for 10 more or to take away from the next symbol?"

Foreign Serials

I like foreign serials. They always have a different take on the world or the subject area they are writing on. However, it is often a bit of a hunt to find where they have put the date, volume, year and et cetera that the Integrated Library System (ILS) demands you enter. Sometimes the information is upside down on the spine and then it makes it fun to put the items on the browsing shelves in reverse chronological order -- because it makes them seem upside down. Sometimes they are hidden in the front or back of the issue. I applaud those, however, that actually publish the date and information on the cover.

Seriously Strange Serials

The serials world can be seriously strange. It is a wonder that serials personnel keep their sanity and that anyone stays working in that field. I have been in the serials field for a while now and have noticed one prominent trend: everything changes. This is part of what makes the serials world fun -- and sometimes frustrating. The way I cope with the changes is by approaching the serials world and its strangeness with a sense of humor.