Periodicals Department - Manuals - Richard Stockton Library

Periodical Home > Manuals > Shelf Maintenace

Shelf -Maintenance:

a. DISCARD (see also Procedure on Shelf-maintenance)

•	All shelving of periodicals, print and microforms, is now shared by the two TES at the Information Desk, the Circulation staff (on weekends) and the Periodicals staff.

•	The Periodicals department is responsible for maintenance of the stacks, i.e. weeding the collection according to the established periodicals retention schedules for each title, checking and making sure all issues are in their correct chronological order, and that the shelves are professionally and clearly labeled.

•	The Principal Library Assistant is assigned the responsibility for weeding and discarding of all periodical titles according to the periodicals retention schedule.

•	To make the task of weeding periodicals easier, for the majority of the titles, weeding and discarding will be performed once a year during January before the Spring semester starts

	For example: American Nurse (keep current 24 months) In January 2003, discard all print issues prior to 2001 ( keep all 2001, 2002 and 2003 issues, and there will always be at least 24 months of issues available). In 2004, discard all issues prior to 2002. (keep all issues of 2002, 2003 and any 2004 available).

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Exceptions:

1.	Weed and discard the print copies of newspaper titles that are replaced by microforms. Print copies of these titles are located in the NEWSPAPER SECTION. They are to be weeded and discarded as soon as the microforms are received and checked-in. For examples: Advertising Age, Chronicle of Higher Education, New York Times, Washington Post, etc

2.	Periodical titles that we receive in both print and microforms, the print copies of these titles in the REGULAR STACKS will not be weeded or discarded until further notice from the Library DirectorW W hen the microforms are received and checked-in, file in the microform cabinet immediately. The circulation staff and TES are responsible for filing the microforms.

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Daily newspapers, such as Star Ledger, Philadelphia Inquirer, etc, will be weeded and
discarded according to the retention schedule. They are not on microforms, and they
are too bulky, and their physical condition are not suited to store them for any extended
length of period.

b. Regular Shelves

•	Maintenance of the regular periodicals shelves is the responsibility of the Periodicals staff
•	Regularly check each of the titles and the issues within each title to make sure they are in the correct alphabetical and chronological orders
•	1996 and later are located in the main periodicals room. Periodicals that are 1995 and prior must be relocated to the lower level by Government Documents
•	Make sure periodicals are neatly placed on the shelves, and that professional looking labels for each title are clearly displayed. Make new labels if necessary
•	Shifting of the shelves to accommodate additional titles or holdings may be necessary from time to time. Solicit the help of the Circulation shelver/staff to do the major move. It is still part of his responsibility.

c. Display Shelves

•	Maintenance of the display shelves is the responsibility of the Periodicals staff.
•	All current subscriptions and a selected number of Government Documents are on display to promote readership.
•	The latest or most current issue is placed on the tilted display shelf. Back issues of that title will be stored directly underneath the titled shelf in reversed order (the earliest at the bottom, and the second most current on top).
•	Only issues from the current year are on display. Issues from the previous year are removed and shelved in the regular shelves.
•	Exceptions are given to titles that are delayed in publication. The latest or most current issue of that title will be on display
•	Regularly check each of the titles and the issues within each title to make sure they are in the correct alphabetical and chronological orders on the display shelves.
•	Make sure periodicals are neatly placed on the shelves, and that professional looking labels for each title are clearly displayed. Shifting of the shelves to accommodate new titles or title changes may be necessary from time to time.
•	Make the change as soon as possible so that the displays are up to date. Make new labels if necessary.

d. Microforms

•	Maintenance of the microform cabinets is the responsibility of the Periodicals staff.
•	Microfiche backfiles are stored in the first 10 microform cabinets, and the microfilms are in the 34 cabinets right after the microfiche.
•	Each cabinet drawer must be clearly labeled to indicate the periodical titles contained.
•	Inside the drawer, a divider with the journal title clearly labeled on it to separate two different titles.
•	Titles are alphabetically and chronologically arranged in the cabinet drawers.
•	Inventory of the microform collection should be conducted once a year when student workers are available.
•	Student workers will be instructed to check each individual fiche or roll of microfilm to make sure each is in its proper place.
•	There should be enough spaces for 5-year expansion of each title. If it becomes necessary to shift the contents of any drawer due to title change or new title added, make sure the label(s) on the drawer correspond(s) with the contents in the drawer, and that new divider with the title clearly labeled is inserted in the right place.
•	LAC and LEL are maintained in the wood catalog cabinets. They are filed according to the LAC or LEL numbers.