Introduction to Serials Work for Library Technicians, by Scott Millard

Introduction to Serials Work for Library Technicians. Scott Millard. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Information Press, 2004. 147 pp. $24.95. soft cover ISBN 0789021552.

As much of the work related to the management of print serials is taught on the job rather than in a formal setting, it’s helpful that a book such as Introduction to Serials Work for Library Technicians is available to help in that instruction.  The book is intended to help novices, whether library technicians or library school students, understand the complexities of serials management and the variety of ways that libraries have addressed those complexities.  It is geared towards both small and large libraries, and provides examples of serials practices that could be applied in a variety of situations.

The book is organized into twelve chapters that address all of the activities involved in the management of serials, ranging from acquisitions, ordering and cataloging, to claiming, binding and the automation of serials management.  The introduction is especially useful in its descriptions of the problems and challenges presented by serials to those attempting to provide access to them.  The chapter on ordering addresses the many ways of acquiring serials, from direct purchase through purchasing through an agent, exchanges, memberships and other means. The chapter on receiving addresses both manual and automated methods of recording the receipt of serials.  The chapter on cataloging serials is a good introduction to the many complexities of cataloging them, but only touches the surface of what there is to learn about the topic. 

The focus is primarily on print serials, so the reader interested in electronic journal management will have to look elsewhere.  Chapters addressing new technology (CD-ROMs, video and microforms) and automation are quite brief, and perhaps less helpful than those addressing issues pertinent to print serials.  Each chapter begins with an objective indicating that the reader is expected to be able to perform that function (e.g., order, receive, catalog) after reading that chapter.  Whereas each of the chapters is an excellent introduction to its respective topic, it would likely require additional hands-on training for a library technician to be able to perform those functions after solely reading the book. The book concludes with a helpful glossary, bibliography and index.  Overall, this is a very good introduction to serials work and would be useful for library technicians or library school students interested in serials work or simply interested in understanding more about library resources.