Search -
Serials in Libraries: Issues and Practices
Serials in Libraries Issues and Practices Author:Steve Black As early as the 17th century, serials publication was inextricably linked to the most current developments in nearly all fields of human endeavor. Even today, serials constitute the single most important vehicle for global scholarly communication. However, the past 20 years have shown an increasing tension among the vested interests of authors, ... more »publishers, vendors, and, of course, librarians. Serials management, a complex business at the best of times, now faces a bar raised to unprecedented heights. Author Steve Black covers such traditional aspects of serials management as acquisition, evaluation, and authority control. He uses these and other functions to highlight changes in scholarly communication and, by extension, how these changes necessitate improvements in practice. Peer review, the prevailing winds of rank and tenure, and the increasingly powerful role of consortia are but a few of the challenges discussed. A final section on teaching patrons to use journals reminds the reader that nonscholars too must be a part of the dialogue. Serials management today includes decision related to online vs. print. While the emphasis is on academic libraries, the place of serials in public and special libraries is covered. The author prepares the serials librarian for a role in library instruction of patrons in libraries.« less