Hello Carol:

Thank you for responding to my plea  for help.   Your comments  are
VERY helpful to me, particularily about using colored slips.  I have
some responses that the colored clips were used for similiar purposes,
but I have seen one of the card holders, and thought the clips could
become dislodged becuase of the plastic lip they had to go over.

The responses have been great showing me some of the complexity or
simplicity being used for their cardex.

It will take me a little while to respond to everyone, then begin to
'digest' all of the responses and start my attack on this problem.

Thank you again for taking the time to respond.

Gratefully,

John Lucas

Serials Librarian
University of Mississippi Medical Center
2500 North State St
Jackson, MS 39216-4505

(PH) (601) 984-1277
(FAX)  ( 601) 984-1262
JLUCAS@ROWLAND.UMSMED.EDU

>>> MorsCa@WWC.EDU 11/08/04 11:56AM >>>
John,
We used the Cardex when I first came here. You can show a lot of info.
For example, if V. 10, #1 is Jan/Feb 2004, you draw a line that croses
the first 2 boxes and write #1 in pencil (We used mechanical pencils
with good erasers). Then you know it was Jan/Feb., etc. If no. 4 is
dated Oct, you put it in the Oct. box. If it said Fall, you write Fall
on the card. If no date, write n.d. You can note self indexes and
supplements. We used to have small colored  squares we would insert in
the cardex: separate colors for titles to bind, titles to box, titles
replaced by microforms, indexes, etc. Then every 2 or 3 or 4 weeks the
serials technician would pick up those titles for processing. It was
important to write down immediately missing issues and claim them in a
timely fashion. (You get the July issue and discover that May/June
never
came). It was much harder to find out which titles simply stopped
coming. A person would have to flip through the Cardex and check every
card, unless a patron alerted us to the fact, which happened sometimes
too.
Good Luck,
Carol Morse

********************************************

Address:
Walla Walla College Library
Periodicals Dept.
104 S. College Ave.
College Place, WA  99324-1159

Carol Morse
Serials Librarian morsca@wwc.edu
509) 527-2684; fax 509) 527-2001
*********************************************

>>> jlucas@ROWLAND.UMSMED.EDU 11/8/2004 9:21:03 AM >>>
Hello Mary:

Anything helps, as it shows to what complexity or simplicity how others
use the boxes.  Right now I am responding to all those whom have sent
messages to me.  I will then 'digest' them and begin my plan of attack.

Thank you again for your help.

Gratefully,

John Lucas

Serials Librarian
University of Mississippi Medical Center
2500 North State St
Jackson, MS 39216-4505

(PH) (601) 984-1277
(FAX)  ( 601) 984-1262
JLUCAS@ROWLAND.UMSMED.EDU

>>> meedwards@AII.EDU 11/05/04 02:03PM >>>
John,

We are one of those libraries who do not have a serials module (yet!) and
still use cards.  The cards we get are from Demco.  We use Demco No.
28-145 for our daily/weekly/biweekly periodicals and Demco 28-144 for
everything else.  On the front of daily cards, there's pretty much just
basic title and check-in information.  I use the reverse for other things
like customer service contact info., notes, expiration dates, etc.

On the monthly cards, there are lots of things that you can use or not
use.  A space for issn would have been nice, but you can add that.

All in all, the cards work okay for basic check in and claiming.  It
just takes a bit of organization and diligence to stay on top of it.
But then again, that's life in Serialsland! :-)

Hope this helps a little.

Mary Edwards
Librarian
Art Institute of California - Los Angeles
2900 31st Street
Santa Monica, CA  90405
310-314-6154
meedwards@edmc.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of John Lucas
Sent: Friday, November 05, 2004 8:30 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] Need expert advice from "Cardex" users or with
small
stand alone check in modules

Hello Fellow Serialists:

Next year, our library will be hosting 3 librarians from Iraq, with the
purpose helping them get an idea of what is available to them with the
amount of connectivity they hope to have in the near future. As they are
starting from scratch, one of my immediate problems is to get them started
on a minimal, manual check in system for what journals they do have and
will be getting to start them off.  An ILS appears to be a few years away.

I am referring to the 'visible card' or Cardex system as most know
it.  I have worked in larger medical school libraries throughout my
career and have really no experience with this formalized system. Even
this would give them a sense of forward progress.

In my P.F. (pre-fire) career, we used a very primitive index card system,
but I have had to dump those experiences due to insufficient RAM and my
current memory is none to reliable.

Now I know it is not 'rocket science' but I have some questions on
how some basic titles might be handled and how others might do it
differently. (ie.) Do you use check marks or write in the issue
numbers?

What are the 'colored signals' used for, Claims and if so how?  What
parts of the card do you use, and what you ignore? And things like
that.

There still must be libraries, using this, or the library suppliers would
not have these products. I am looking for some libraries who are willing
to share their experience, and maybe their check in procedure pages.
(Gaylord, Demco and the others do not have instruction sheets, so I guess
that everyone should know how to use it to its fullest)

Also I thought at one time there were some small, stand alone serials
modules out there.  I have been unable to find them to date.  The small
"periodical manager" programs the library suppliers have seem to be
nothing more than an accession list. Even these might be currently beyond
their capability at the present but would be another interim step towards
an ILS system.

Any knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

John Lucas

Serials Librarian
University of Mississippi Medical Center
2500 North State St
Jackson, MS 39216-4505

(PH) (601) 984-1277
(FAX)  ( 601) 984-1262
JLUCAS@ROWLAND.UMSMED.EDU