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Tools of the serials trade
Tools of the Serials Trade
James E. Rush Associates. Serials Control. Powell, OH: James E. Rush Associates, 1983. 194p. ISBN 0--912803--01-0. (Library Systems Evaluation Guide, v. 1.) The first in a series of eight volumes on evaluation and selection of library systems, Serials Control admirably fulfills the author's intention to present "in concise, easily usable format basic information on the requirements for and techniques o f evaluation o f automated library applications." It is well organized and not overly technical for the reader familiar with the basics o f serials work. The author has a remarkable grasp o f the complexities o f serials operations and fully understands what an online, interactive, computer-based system must be able to do in order to replace the manual system. Serials control has lagged behind the automation of other library operations largely because of the difficulty of developing a check-in routine. As the guide states: "Check-in o f serial issues must be quick and easy, otherwise, automation support for this function cannot compete with manual check-in. Two features o f check-in must work quite well for automated check-in to be successful. The first is powerful searching and retrieval capabilities. The other is the capability for accurate prediction of the next expected issue of a serial" (p. 24). The adaptability of the human mind has not been substantially matched by the computer to cope with the irregularity o f arrival of issues, changes in frequency of publication, title, issuing body or publisher, or suspension or cessation of publication. After weighing the costs o f conversion against the limitations o f the new systems, few libraries have chosen to convert from manual to automated check-in systems. The recent addition of the claims c o m p o n e n t to the OCLC serials control subsystem, however, may stimulate much more interest in automated serials check-in, at least among the OCLC m e m b e r libraries. The first major part o f the book, "Functional Requirements for A u t o m a t e d Serials Control Systems," describes the major functions, requirements, and benefits o f a good automated serials control system. The next section describes a m e t h o d for evaluation of serials control systems, which consists o f eight phases from setting objectives to post-installation evaluation. A comprehensive table o f 36 functions
and 535 features, and a checklist of 616 data elements required in a good automated serials control system are provided for use in the evaluation. A numerical weight is assigned to each function or feature to indicate its relative importance. Users o f the guide are advised to review and revise these weights as appropriate to their own specific needs. A worksheet is provided on which to score each candidate system against the list of functions and features. The system with the highest total score should represent the best candidate for the library, provided that it incorporates all of the data elements necessary to achieve the library's serials control objectives. An inventory of available serials control systems is provided, which includes a brief description of each system, its hardware requirements, its capacity, the basic functions supported, and approximate prices if available. The source, mailing address, principal contact person and telephone number are also supplied. A selected bibliography, an index, many cross references, and a glossary of data element definitions combine to make this a handy and practical guide. The author cites four principal benefits to be gained from automated support for serials control: increased accuracy of data, increased timeliness of processing, improved management information, and decreased cost o f processing. Indeed these are potential benefits, but accurate output can only be obtained from accurate input of data. During the conversion from the manual system, great care must be given to the accuracy of transferring information from the manual file, and after the conversion the marvelous powers of the computer cannot substitute for continued accuracy of daily data input. Also the promise of cost savings may be overly optimistic. Kamens reported that it took far more time to check in serials on the OCLC system than it did on a manual system (Harry H. Kamens, "OCLC's Serials Control Subsystem: A Case Study," Serials Librarian 3 (Fall 1983): 43--55). Automation of library functions has been able to provide additional data and new and improved services, but overall cost reductions are elusive. Under " w o r k tracking," the guide recommends that the serials control system should have the
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capability o f reading bar codes by means o f a wand. It is suggested that stickers could be printed with unique numbers, like accession numbers, and that these could be affixed not only to every publication as it was received but also to invoices and other transient documents so they could be traced. As each document passed from one workstation to the next, it could be checked in or out by a wave of the wand over the bar code. Certainly the bar code can be an efficient tool, but the work tracking application seems to create more busywork than benefits. Instead, with the cooperation o f publishers, the bar code could become the answer to one of the more troublesome serials handling routines. The most complex step in the check-in operation is finding the right record for the item to be checked in. If publishers would print the ISSN on each serial's cover in machine-readable bar code, the capability for instant automatic retrieval of records would be in our hands. A noticeable exception to the general clarity o f the b o o k is a three-dimensional drawing intended to clarify the reader's understanding o f the different types o f serials control systems available. The drawing may have some artistic appeal, but most readers who are unfamiliar with the style o f presentation will find it incomprehensible. Contrary to what one might expect o f a systems guide at a time o f growing interest in systems integration, this book discusses the serials control subsystem in isolation from the library's overall information network. It does not say enough about the interface with other systems such as cataloging, acquisitions, circulation, interlibrary loan, and financial controls. The book's shortcomings are far outweighed by its strengths, and it will be essential reading both for
76
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librarians who are shopping for serials control systems and for those who design the systems. Probably its most vital contribution will be to facilitate communication between these two groups. By surveying the current state o f the art, it lets librarians k n o w what they can rightly expect of a system, and its comprehensive analysis o f serials control operations clearly indicates for designers the functions to include in a system. Even with this helpful guide, it will not be easy to plan, select, and install a serials control system. To identify, evaluate, and match the available functions, features, and data elements and grade them using the numerical weights on the worksheets provided will require considerable time, knowledge of serials work, and research into competing systems. Perhaps the reader o f this guide will wish that the writer would take the further step of compiling an annual consumers' buying guide to existing serials control systems, with quality or performance ratings for each of the functions and features that appear on the evaluation checklist. Such a report would respond to De Gennaro's wish to "have ready access to much more consumer-oriented descriptive, comparative and evaluative i n f o r m a t i o n . . . [covering] the whole range of computer-based library systems and services that is available or under development." (Richard De Gennaro, "Doing Business with Vendors in the Computer-Based Library Systems Marketplace," American Libraries 9 (April 1978): 222). The guide tells its readers h o w to evaluate the available information on serials control systems. The next logical step is to make that information more readily available.
Mitsuko Collver
James E. Rush Associates. Serials Control. Powell, OH: James E. Rush Associates, 1983. 194p. ISBN 0--912803--01-0. (Library Systems Evaluation Guide, v. 1.) The first in a series of eight volumes on evaluation and selection of library systems, Serials Control admirably fulfills the author's intention to present "in concise, easily usable format basic information on the requirements for and techniques o f evaluation o f automated library applications." It is well organized and not overly technical for the reader familiar with the basics o f serials work. The author has a remarkable grasp o f the complexities o f serials operations and fully understands what an online, interactive, computer-based system must be able to do in order to replace the manual system. Serials control has lagged behind the automation of other library operations largely because of the difficulty of developing a check-in routine. As the guide states: "Check-in o f serial issues must be quick and easy, otherwise, automation support for this function cannot compete with manual check-in. Two features o f check-in must work quite well for automated check-in to be successful. The first is powerful searching and retrieval capabilities. The other is the capability for accurate prediction of the next expected issue of a serial" (p. 24). The adaptability of the human mind has not been substantially matched by the computer to cope with the irregularity o f arrival of issues, changes in frequency of publication, title, issuing body or publisher, or suspension or cessation of publication. After weighing the costs o f conversion against the limitations o f the new systems, few libraries have chosen to convert from manual to automated check-in systems. The recent addition of the claims c o m p o n e n t to the OCLC serials control subsystem, however, may stimulate much more interest in automated serials check-in, at least among the OCLC m e m b e r libraries. The first major part o f the book, "Functional Requirements for A u t o m a t e d Serials Control Systems," describes the major functions, requirements, and benefits o f a good automated serials control system. The next section describes a m e t h o d for evaluation of serials control systems, which consists o f eight phases from setting objectives to post-installation evaluation. A comprehensive table o f 36 functions
and 535 features, and a checklist of 616 data elements required in a good automated serials control system are provided for use in the evaluation. A numerical weight is assigned to each function or feature to indicate its relative importance. Users o f the guide are advised to review and revise these weights as appropriate to their own specific needs. A worksheet is provided on which to score each candidate system against the list of functions and features. The system with the highest total score should represent the best candidate for the library, provided that it incorporates all of the data elements necessary to achieve the library's serials control objectives. An inventory of available serials control systems is provided, which includes a brief description of each system, its hardware requirements, its capacity, the basic functions supported, and approximate prices if available. The source, mailing address, principal contact person and telephone number are also supplied. A selected bibliography, an index, many cross references, and a glossary of data element definitions combine to make this a handy and practical guide. The author cites four principal benefits to be gained from automated support for serials control: increased accuracy of data, increased timeliness of processing, improved management information, and decreased cost o f processing. Indeed these are potential benefits, but accurate output can only be obtained from accurate input of data. During the conversion from the manual system, great care must be given to the accuracy of transferring information from the manual file, and after the conversion the marvelous powers of the computer cannot substitute for continued accuracy of daily data input. Also the promise of cost savings may be overly optimistic. Kamens reported that it took far more time to check in serials on the OCLC system than it did on a manual system (Harry H. Kamens, "OCLC's Serials Control Subsystem: A Case Study," Serials Librarian 3 (Fall 1983): 43--55). Automation of library functions has been able to provide additional data and new and improved services, but overall cost reductions are elusive. Under " w o r k tracking," the guide recommends that the serials control system should have the
SERIALS REVIEW
SPRING 1984
75
capability o f reading bar codes by means o f a wand. It is suggested that stickers could be printed with unique numbers, like accession numbers, and that these could be affixed not only to every publication as it was received but also to invoices and other transient documents so they could be traced. As each document passed from one workstation to the next, it could be checked in or out by a wave of the wand over the bar code. Certainly the bar code can be an efficient tool, but the work tracking application seems to create more busywork than benefits. Instead, with the cooperation o f publishers, the bar code could become the answer to one of the more troublesome serials handling routines. The most complex step in the check-in operation is finding the right record for the item to be checked in. If publishers would print the ISSN on each serial's cover in machine-readable bar code, the capability for instant automatic retrieval of records would be in our hands. A noticeable exception to the general clarity o f the b o o k is a three-dimensional drawing intended to clarify the reader's understanding o f the different types o f serials control systems available. The drawing may have some artistic appeal, but most readers who are unfamiliar with the style o f presentation will find it incomprehensible. Contrary to what one might expect o f a systems guide at a time o f growing interest in systems integration, this book discusses the serials control subsystem in isolation from the library's overall information network. It does not say enough about the interface with other systems such as cataloging, acquisitions, circulation, interlibrary loan, and financial controls. The book's shortcomings are far outweighed by its strengths, and it will be essential reading both for
76
SERIALS REVIEW
SPRING 1984
librarians who are shopping for serials control systems and for those who design the systems. Probably its most vital contribution will be to facilitate communication between these two groups. By surveying the current state o f the art, it lets librarians k n o w what they can rightly expect of a system, and its comprehensive analysis o f serials control operations clearly indicates for designers the functions to include in a system. Even with this helpful guide, it will not be easy to plan, select, and install a serials control system. To identify, evaluate, and match the available functions, features, and data elements and grade them using the numerical weights on the worksheets provided will require considerable time, knowledge of serials work, and research into competing systems. Perhaps the reader o f this guide will wish that the writer would take the further step of compiling an annual consumers' buying guide to existing serials control systems, with quality or performance ratings for each of the functions and features that appear on the evaluation checklist. Such a report would respond to De Gennaro's wish to "have ready access to much more consumer-oriented descriptive, comparative and evaluative i n f o r m a t i o n . . . [covering] the whole range of computer-based library systems and services that is available or under development." (Richard De Gennaro, "Doing Business with Vendors in the Computer-Based Library Systems Marketplace," American Libraries 9 (April 1978): 222). The guide tells its readers h o w to evaluate the available information on serials control systems. The next logical step is to make that information more readily available.
Mitsuko Collver