Introduction to Serials Work for Library Technicians

Citation

Sweeney, L. (2005), "Introduction to Serials Work for Library Technicians", New Library World, Vol. 106 No. 5/6, pp. 294-295. https://doi.org/10.1108/03074800510595913

This book claims to be an “introduction to serials work”. It is aimed at “library and information technician” (p. 1) students. The term “technicians” is slightly foreign to us. I presume the book is aimed at library and information management undergraduates and I can see this book as being of some, limited, value to students in library school. It provides an outline of some of the processes required for serials management, at least for printed serials management. The chapter headings indicate the scope of the book: “Acquisitions”, “Ordering”, “Receipt and check‐in of serials”, “Cataloguing”, “Processing and shelving arrangements”, “Claims”, “Binding”, “Renewals”, “Cessations”, “Automation” and “New technology”. However, while many of the processes described in the book would be very familiar to old‐school professional librarians, they would gain no new information from it and many of the processes are becoming redundant. For professionals working in the 21st century, this book covers no new ground.

The chapter headings are clear and the book would act as a useful reference for some aspects such as the definition of, and problems with, serials. The glossary is useful and the index helps one to use the book efficiently as a reference. The bibliography, however, is somewhat backward looking. Of thirty‐one items listed, only six are dated 2000 onwards. In a rapidly developing field, when little stays still for long, this indicates that the book is not informed by current research and does not reflect new ways of working. Some of the processes mentioned in the book, such as the use of the Kardex and the cataloguing of serials, which are described in great detail, are becoming obsolete, except perhaps in very small libraries. For example, Chapter 11: Automation is two pages long and simply a list of advantages and disadvantages. In a time when most libraries will now be automated, this is not sufficient “… to describe the role of automation in serials management” (p. 127). Similarly, Chapter 12: New Technology has the objective: “Upon successful completion of this chapter, the student will have demonstrated the ability to describe the impact of new technologies on serials” (p. 131). This is a somewhat ambitious claim for two and a half pages, most of which are spent outlining the problems attached to the new technologies. I have the distinct impression the author would do without the new technology, given the choice, and stick with his Kardex. In another example of clinging on to increasingly redundant practice, Chapter 5: Cataloging begins by saying “Few libraries have their serials fully catalogued. In fact, many libraries do not have their serials catalogued at all” (p. 65). The author then spends 30 pages describing, in minute detail, exactly how to catalogue a serial.

My other main criticism of the book would be the very obvious avoidance of any specifics when it comes to electronic journals. In spite of including a definition of a serial with examples of the various formats including electronic journals, when the author moves on to examine the various formats of a serial in detail, he does not mention electronic journals again. Similarly when the author is discussing the possibility of a serial changing its format, he does not discuss the electronic journal. Perhaps Scott Millard sees electronic journals as beyond the remit of this book. There is, after all, another book in the same series called E‐Serials Collection Management: Transitions, Trends and Technicalities (Fowler, 2002). As a serials librarian in a large academic library, I find the distinction a bit false. The library technician will need to be aware of the issues affecting the management of both formats.

I would not recommend the purchase of this book for my own library. The details and recommended texts, such as the periodical directories, are very much biased to the American market. While Ulrich's International Periodical Directory is mentioned, all of the other periodical directories listed are for American or Canadian serials. Many of the procedures described in the book are old‐fashioned and becoming obsolete, and the lack of recognition of the very major role that electronic journals now play is inaccurate and short‐sighted.