Overview
Occasionally, the serials technician will receive unidentified periodicals.
Unidentified periodicals can be:
Misdelivered / intended for another subscriber (this is difficult or impossible to determine, because journal packaging is removed in the mail room.)
Sample issues
Advertisements, catalogs, etc.
Gift subscriptions that we have not added to the collection
Publications ordered by MACC
Title changes or splits
New subscriptions (often part of a package)
Before checking further
Look for an address label. If you can determine that the item has been misdelivered, circle the address to which the item should have been delivered and return it to the mail room.
Read the introductory material inside the issue to see if any information is given about a title change. If yes, locate the last issue of the previous title and give both the old title and the new title to the librarian.
Read any accompanying material (e.g. a cover letter) to determine if the issue is a sample. Discard all issues clearly identified as samples.
Discard all advertisements and catalogs.
Investigation
1. Start with a "Mystery Title Slip" (see below and in Google Drive).
2. Check the Serials Unit Discard List in Google Drive to see if we have already determined that the title should be discarded.
3. Do an All Titles search in Alma by ISSN, Title, and Author (e.g. American Academy of Mineralogy). Limit search to Journal only if necessary.
4. Search EBSCONET by ISSN and Title. Note whether we have a subscription and write down the EBSCO title number.
5. Check WorldCat by ISSN, Title, and Author (e.g. American Academy of Mineralogy) for more information. Limit search to serials only if necessary. Note whether cataloged as a serial or a monograph. Note any earlier titles.
Disposition
If the title is on the discard list, throw it out.
If you find the title in Alma:
Check it in.
If there is a PO Line for a one-time purchase, give it to MACC.
If, after checking EBSCONET, you find that we subscribe, but there is no record in Alma, alert the librarian.
If, after checking WorldCat, you determine that the title is a monograph, and there is no one-time order record in Alma, give the item to the Collection Management Officer as a gift book.
If, after checking WorldCat, you determine that the title is the first issue of a title change, locate the last issue of the previous title and give both the old title and the new title to the librarian.
If none of the above, give the issue to the librarian with the completed Mystery Title Slip.