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Journal claiming (4 messages) Birdie MacLennan 16 Apr 1997 21:35 UTC

4 messages, 141 lines:

(1)---------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 14:07:11 EDT
From: "Diane Lewis" <DILEWIS@IGSRGLIB01.ER.USGS.GOV>
Organization:  U.S. Geological Survey
Subject: Re: journal claiming

Isabel Brackbill <ibrackbill@LANL.GOV> 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.

We have approximately 8,000 "live" serials.  Our staff consists of
myself (parttime Exchange & Gift Librarian), one fulltime staffer,
and two other parttimers.  Due to staff cuts,  and
our systems migration, claiming has fallen by the wayside.  We
claim when we come across gaps while checking in or when patrons
need something that we are missing.

The situation is strictly "ad hoc" and very
unsatisfying.  In an ideal setup, we would be scanning for
claims on a daily basis for dailies, on a weekly basis for weeklies,
etc.  My plan is to scan the titles we have loaded into our new
integrated system on a weekly basis, if I ever catch up with the
backlog of 1,092 claims it just spit out today (the claims function
has just been restored after an upgrade).  As for the 5,000
other titles still in the visible file, who knows?

Diane M. Lewis, Serial Records Librarian
U.S. Geological Survey Library
National Center--MS 950
Reston, Virginia 20192
(703)648-4399
dilewis@igsrglib01.usgs.gov

"Without the library, there is no educational
institution."--Dancing with Change, 4/4/97.
Opinions expressed are strictly my own.

(2)--------------------------
Date:         Wed, 16 Apr 1997 14:20:58 -0400
From:         Deborah Harrell <dharrell@WESTGA.EDU>
Subject:      Re: journal claiming

Our library has 1700+ active journal subscriptions, which includes
microform and newspaper plus regular paper.  All our control records are
set up with active vendors and there is a complete vendor record in our
system.  Each week, I have a claim report run which picks up all checkins
that should have been received during the previous 45 days, that have not
already been claimed.  Our system (SIRSI) has three reports:  the first
lists the claims, the second marks the checkins, and the third prints the
letters.

I print off the first report (list of claims).  My claims student
assistant checks the titles/issues against the computer to determine if
this was an erronous listing (#1 & 2 were published together and checked
in, but the single checkins for those still exist, etc.).  She then
brings up the third report, the letters, into WordPerfect and edits as
needed, then prints the letters.  If we have a fax number, we fax this
letter to the publisher; if not, she prepares an envelope and mails it.

About 75% of our claims are through our agents; these claims are always
faxed.  Of the remaining 25%, about half get faxed.  This is certainly
faster and cheaper than mailing.  Although we aren't using e-mail for
claims just yet, I am hoping that will be possible by September.  We have
experimented with telnetting (is that a correct term?) with claims to our
vendor, but are not quite satisfied with their response time just yet.

All totalled, we average claiming about 25-35 titles per week, and it
takes my assistant 2-3 hours from start to finish.  Is it worth the
expense?  In my estimation, it certainly is.

Incidentally, during the summer when I don't have a claims assistant, I
personally do the claims, thus giving me an idea of methods that need
changing.

Debbie Harrell
Ingram Library, State University of West Georgia
phone: 770-836-6498
fax: 770-836-6626

(3)-------------------------
Date:         Wed, 16 Apr 1997 13:26:21 CST6CDT
From:         Paula Gerthe <Paula.J.Gerthe@WHEATON.EDU>
Organization: Wheaton College
Subject:      Re: journal claiming

Greetings, Isabel!

The answers you receive about claiming time is probably going to vary
according to the procedures of the responding library; accordingly,
I'll preface my answer by our library's situation.

All of our periodicals (about 1500 active subscriptions)  are catalogued in
Dynix (owned by Ameritech), with a publication pattern, copy record
including vender information, and check-in module.  As each issue is
checked in, the next issue is predicted.  If it is not received as expected,
 it is sent to the claims review file.  I do claiming once a week.  II spend
about 1/2 hour a week reviewing this file to determine that the claims are
valid--authorizing the valid ones and altering the expected date of
others.  Then, my student workers spend about 1/2 hour checking the
shelves to make sure that the issues definitely are not there.  The
next morning, I give the computer the command to print the claims,
and it spits out my claims letters--which I go through and highlight
the title and issue no., and then send to our subscription
service or the publisher, depending on whom we get them through.  So,
in our case, about an hour and a half a week is spent on claiming..

Paula Gerthe (Paula.J.Gerthe)
Serials Assistant
Wheaton College Library (IL)

(4)--------------------------
Date:         Wed, 16 Apr 1997 13:55:46 -0500
From:         Andrew Leonhart <aleonhar@MANC.EDU>
Subject:      Re: journal claiming

I'm at a small/medium sized academic library.  I check as I check-in
journals and if there is a gap I will first check the shelf and then file a
claim for a missing issue.  I use cards, we don't have a computerized
check-in system.  We use Ebsco (no advertisement) and I can make my claims
on the web.  Checking-in journals (including shelving) takes one hour a day
tops.  Claiming journals takes half an hour a week maybe.

Hopefully this is helpful/applicable.  I'm just a beginner at this, 4 1/2
years as a librarian, 1 1/2 years with serials.  My problem is that I did
not have a professional to teach me how to do this.  I was pretty much on
my own.  I joined this group to pick up helpful tips and it has been
worthwhile for me!

Andrew E. Leonhart
Mabee Library
MidAmerica Nazarene College
2030 E. College Way
Olathe, KS 66062

(913) 782-3750 x162
(913) 791-3285 (fax)
aleonhar@manc.edu