Shelving Periodicals
What is a periodical?
A periodical is a journal or magazine issued at regular intervals (periodically) e.g. daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or annually, etc. The Patrick Power Library periodical holdings are located on the third floor; however, there are approximately 65 popular periodical titles with current issues shelved on the first floor, in the Reading Loung Area.
Current issues are denoted by a green dot and do not leave the library. Patrons may use this material in the library only.
Periodicals can be bound or unbound. Bound periodicals are a collection of unbound issues of a title published over a particular time. If the title is bound by the issues of a certain year, for example, they cannot be bound unless all issues are available (12monthly issues, 4 quarterly issues, etc.).
How Do You Determine the Title of a Periodical?
Periodicals are shelved in alphabetical orderby the periodical’s title. To know where to shelve a periodical, a black ‘L’ shape,called an index mark, is written below the first letter of the first word of the title on unbound journals.
A periodical’s published title may be different than the one used by the library. The black L will determine the title the library uses.
For bound journals, the title will be written on the spine with no index mark.
How to Shelve Periodicals
Start by shelving the periodicals in alphabetical order, using the first word in the title marked by the black L.
- Note that if a title begins with an article such as ‘the’, it is ignored and the beginning of the title will be the first word after the article. Articles appearing after the first word in the title are used to determine placement of the shelf. This is important for bound journals where there are no index marks
- If the first word of two journals is the same, shelve the periodical according to the second word in the title
- Continue this method until you find the correct place to shelve the periodical
For example:
Journal of American History before Journal of French Art.
If two words are nearly the same except that one has an ‘S’ at the end, the title with the single word is shelved before the one with a plural word.
For example:
Journal of Psychology before Journals of Palaeontology
All periodical titles that begin with an acronym are shelved at the beginning of the letter they start with, and before any other non-acronym titles beginning with the same letter.
For example:
ACM Transactions on Storage before ACPA Proceedings
and
ACM Transactions on Storage before Abacus
Following the title of the periodical, you will see the issue’s volume, number, date and year. They are indicated on the spine of the periodical, or marked on a label on the front of the unbound issue.
A typical periodical title is depicted in the following example:
A typical journal cart takes about half an hour to 45 minutes for experienced Student Assistants to shelve.
To get started, go to the first range of journals. Look at the range label. It tells you which journals belong in that range. Take these journals off your cart and shelve them as a group. Proceed to the next range and follow the same steps.
You can either shelve the bound and unbound items at the same time, or you can shelve the bound items first, and then shelve the unbound items. Experiment so that you can develop a style that is most efficient and comfortable for you.
When placing unbound issues in their boxes, please ensure that the volumes on either side are in order.
- Be aware that sometimes when patrons browse through the unbound journals, they often reverse or mess up the order
- They should be placed in ascending number order from left to right
- If they are not, take the time to fix them, or notify the Stacks Manager, if you do not have enough time to fix them yourself
Sometimes, you will have a journal on your cart that you cannot find a spot for. If this is the case, bring it down and ask the Stacks Manager where to put it. If the Stacks Manager is not available, leave it on their desk with a note.
It is important that we shelve all items accurately to ensure the integrity of the service we provide. When in doubt, always ask a supervisor.
Back to Stacks Maintenance