# Presentation: 518859

## Isn’t REALLY the Serial Set:

**Isn’t *****REALLY***** the Serial Set:**

- How Selectives Cope WithCongressional Reports and Documents

**Notes:**
Kathy

## Why is it important to have a physical Serial Set? *

- It provides the most detailed record of government operation
- Items of such historical importance need to be saved in a permanently reliable format
- We are reluctant to truncate historical sets

- * *even though it’s all online*

**Notes:**
Kathy

## What happened in 1997?

-  Depository status of Serial Set ceased for selectives as GPO had to find ways to cut costs
-  You can still have it—for a price($15,400 per Congress)...
-  Or, you have to deal with the kinds of issues we will be discussing this afternoon

**Notes:**
Kathy

## Outline for the Panel Discussion

- Paper:  DO or DON’T imitate “real” Serial Set?
- What to bind? (none, some or all?)

- How-to details
- Binding
- Cataloging

- Future of the Serial Set

- Format decision: Microfiche or Paper?
- Pros and cons
- Experience with a mixed collection

**Notes:**
Kathy

##  Paper--pros

** ****Paper--pros**

-  Shelves look neater when paper is bound

-  Items are preserved

-  Items are easy to locate on the shelves

-  Binding is less expensive than purchase of Serial Set

-  Bound volumes are easy to use

**Notes:**
Sandra

##  Items lose their separate identities when bound

-  Paper takes up more space

-  If a bound volume is lost, all its parts are lost

-  Staff time needed for processing binding shipments

-  Binding is an expense

** ****Paper--cons**

**Format decision:  MF or paper? **

**Notes:**
Sandra

##  Microfiche--pros

** ****Microfiche--pros**

-  Fiche is a space saver

-  Items are kept as separate entities

-  No extra processing expenses are incurred

** ****Microfiche--cons**

-  Fiche is awkward to use

-  Individual fiche can be hard to file and to keep in order

-  Microfiche cabinets and viewers/printers must be purchased

**Notes:**
Sandra

##  Paper options

** ****Paper options**

-  Use table of contents pages

** **Continue Serial Set numbering

-  Use title pages

-  Print Serial Set volume number on each spine

** **Retain arrangement by document type

**Format decision:  MF or paper?**

**Notes:**
Sandra

## Microfiche options

**Microfiche options**

-  Use dividers to imitate Serial Set arrangement

-  Don’t use dividers and retain arrangement by document type

**Notes:**
Anna, since you use dividers and I’m not sure any of the others of us do, can you do this slide? Not much comment would be necessary, I wouldn’t think.

## Historical Collections (closed stacks)

**Historical Collections **(closed stacks)

-  Bound paper volumes for depository documents

-  CIS microfiche for non-depository documents

-  one title in OPAC

-  separate holdings by format

-  both arranged by volume numbers

-  housed in separate areas

-  Readex depository publications, 1956-1980

-  Complete set (15th Congress, 1817- )

-  microprint

**Notes:**
Anna

##  Current documents (closed stacks)

-  Congress, session, document type and number

-  In storage area until bound

-  CIS Serial Set; arranged by SuDoc number

-  Unbound documents

-  Bound volumes by Congress, session, volume

-  Microfiche

-  U.S. Government Publications; depository (1981- )

-  arranged by year, MoCat #, SuDoc #

-  dividers

-  one year delay

**Format decision:  Experience with a mixed collection **at Cornell Univ.

**Notes:**
Anna

## Once you decide on PAPER:  

**DO you or DON’T you**
**Imitate “real” Serial Set?**

**Notes:**
Kathy; this is one “intro” slide I think we need to keep, since we are kind of dropping discussion of MF from here on.

## Continuity of the Collection

- at the Library of Virginia and St. Cloud State Univ.

**Continuity of the Collection**

-  Library of Virginia has one of the most complete collections in the country

-  We actually bought the 105th Congress Serial Set

**Other reasons to imitate**

-  Tradition

-  Appearance

-  Finding Aids

**Notes:**
Mary, Sandra

##  Cost: We cannot afford to bind everything

-  *Cost: *We cannot afford to bind everything

-  *Simplicity of numbering: *Cataloging records from Marcive use House/Senate Report/Document numbers (Y 1.1/3,4,5,etc.)

-  *Simplicity of numbering, cont.: *Many citations are to House/Senate Report/Document numbers, not Serial Set volume numbers, even for older items

-  *Acceptance of limitations:* I am not Virginia Saunders (!)

**Notes:**
Kathy

## Preservation

**Preservation**

-  We keep everything; the collection is not weeded

-  Loose paper is difficult—easy to misplace, misfile

-  Small pieces are easily damaged, especially after adding Marcive labels

**Economy**

-  Binding a lot less expensive than buying the “real” Serial Set

-  We decided to imitate the “real” Serial Set

**Notes:**
I added the first point, Mary, for continuity.

##  Arbitrary cut-off: We bind all reports under 50 pages in length

-  *Arbitrary cut-off: *We bind all reports under 50 pages in length

-  Difference in appearance of shelves calls attention of librarians and users to difference in arrangement

**Reasons we bind SOME **at St. Mary’s

-  *Convenience/Cost:* We cannot afford to bind everything, but don’t want to deal with lots of slip reports/documents

-  *A happy result: *Since starting in-house binding, we shelve primarily by document type rather than by Congress...

-  *Retention Policy:* Having some unbound items facilitates weeding, which we do very selectively

**Notes:**
Kathy

## Reasons we bind NONE at Southeastern LA Univ.

* **Library Type: * We are not a research library.

* **Proximity of a Regional:  *There is one 45 miles from us.

* **Circulation:  *We circulate individual reports and documents over 15 pages.  We do not circulate bound Serial Set volumes.

-  *Cataloging*:  We receive Marcive records that reflect the individual reports and documents, but do not reflect the bound volumes.

-  *Usage of Reports and Documents*:  Overall, our collection receives very low use.

-  *Service to the Depository Community*:  I thought our collection could serve as a resource for other depositories.

**Notes:**
Lori

##  We bind following GPO’s title page and table of contents guidelines

- at the Library of Virginia

-  We bind following GPO’s title page and table of contents guidelines

-  Spine labels follow GPO tradition as much as possible

-  Marcive labels have interfered with binding once

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Mary

## Gathering Together

- at UT, El Paso

**Gathering Together**

-  Check Table of Contents to make sure all documents are in order

-  Check material out to bindery

-  Make sure bindery slips reflect change in SuDoc number

-  Use Schedule of Serial Set Volumes:  found in the Administrative Notes Technical Supplement
-  URL:  www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/techsup/

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Robin

## Replacing missing documents

- at UT, El Paso

**Replacing missing documents**

-  Purchase through the GPO online bookstore; maintain a GPO deposit account for this purpose
-  URL:  http://bookstore.gpo.gov/

-  Search for documents online at GPO Access; full text documents are printed out and cut to fit
-  URL:  gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/search.html

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Robin

##  We keep track of which reports are bound and which are shelved as is by marking a numerical list:

**Y 1.1/8:108- House Reports**
- 001	050	100	151	200
**002**	051	101	**152**	201
- 003	052	**102**	153	202
- 004	053	**103**	154	203
- 005	054	104	155	204
- 006	055	105	156	205

**Binding selected Reports and Documents **at St. Mary’s

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Kathy

##  We type up a “table of contents” page for each bound volume:

-  We type up a “table of contents” page for each bound volume:

**Binding selected Reports and Documents **at St. Mary’s

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Kathy

##  Getting the records

-  from OCLC
-  from Marcive
-  creating them

**Linking individual records to miscellaneous bound volumes**
- at St. Mary’s

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Trish

## Linking individual records to miscellaneous bound volumes

- at St. Mary’s

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Trish

## If you create them, include ...

-  author: *U.S. Congress. Senate/House. Committee ....*

-  individual document’s title

-  490 series statement, including the unique document number within the series

-  830 series statement

-  810 statement of author/title optional

**Linking individual records to miscellaneous bound volumes**
- at St. Mary’s

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Trish

## Linking individual records to miscellaneous bound volumes

- at St. Mary’s

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Trish; she and I will work on the animation for this slide before the presentation.

##  Practicalities

-  assigning the item barcode

**Linking individual records to miscellaneous bound volumes**
- at St. Mary’s

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Trish

##  time and effort factors

-  verify that all access points bring up all the records

-  copy and paste is a beautiful thing

-  **Practicalities**

**Linking individual records to miscellaneous bound volumes**
- at St. Mary’s

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Trish

##  Check material back in from the bindery; change status from “bindery” to “non-circulating”

- at UT, El Paso

-  Check material back in from the bindery; change status from “bindery” to “non-circulating”

-  Put in barcodes, security strips, and date stamp the volumes

-  Cataloger identifies each record within the volume and enters “bound withs” into each record

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Robin

##  What Bound Volumes?  If you're not binding, there will be no bound volumes to which records could be linked.

-  *Catalog Should Reflect Reality*: Whatever your decision on binding, the information in your catalog should reflect the correct call numbers and locations for Serial Set publications.

**We don’t link records **at Southeastern LA Univ.

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Lori

## Accessibility

**Accessibility**

-  LVA has historical collections overall

-  We have cataloged selectively: Virginia, Revolutionary War, Civil War, Navigation, Genealogical Materials

**Selection of materials to catalog**** **

-  Future cataloging enhancement – links to the Digital Serial Set? Possibly

-  Serendipity

-  Systematic

**How-to details**

**Notes:**
Mary

## Current digital collections (full text remote online access)

**Current digital collections **(full text remote online access)

-  GPO Access (1995/104th—present)

-  Congressional Universe (1995/104th—present)

**Historical Collections **(remote online access)

-  digital images of the publications

-  full-text searches on OCR-generated ASCII text

-  search using a variety of indexes

-  available in the fall of 2003

**Notes:**
Anna

## LexisNexis U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection

**LexisNexis U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection**

-  1789-1969 with American State Papers (1789-1838)

-  approx. 11 million pages

**Readex U.S. Congressional Serial Set Digital Edition**

-  1789-1980, with American State Papers

-  over 12 million pages

-  based on CIS Serial Set on microfiche

-  digitized primary sources

**Notes:**
Anna

## The Panel --

- Kathleen L. Amen, St. Mary’s University
-   kamen@stmarytx.edu
- Roberta Arney, University of Texas, El Paso
-   rarney@libr.utep.edu
- Mary Clark, Library of Virginia
-   mclark@lva.lib.va.us
- Trish Keogh, Goucher College
-   pkeogh@goucher.edu
- Anna Korhonen, Cornell University
-   ahk3@cornell.edu
- Lori Smith, Southeastern Louisiana University
-   lsmith@selu.edu
- Sandra Q. Williams, St. Cloud State University
-   sqwilliams@stcloudstate.edu