Functions of a Serials Control System
The following are the functions to be covered by a serials control system:
- Management Information
- Selection for purchases
- Ordering (including renewals and subscriptions)
- Receiving issues and claiming for issues not 'received
- Recording current holdings and allowing access to such lists
- Circulation of issues and borrowing.
- Binding
In order to perform the above functions, the serials control system must have a number of core databases. The entire system depends on the master records of database. The database contains master serial records, which may be held in a series of linked files. Each record in a serials system includes:
- Cataloguing data (That is to say that the records may be MARC based or in any other simple format);
- Ordering data including renewal dates, and addresses of publishers, codes for vendors and costs;
- Receiving data such as frequency of publication, irregularies, claiming criteria;
- Binding data such as colour and style of binding, number of issues per binding volume and type of binding;
- Holdings data that is the number of volumes available in the library, etc; and
- Circulation data that is the names and addresses of locations for circulation.
Availability of such data may form the basis of a set of lists to aid the control of the various functions.