Frequently Asked Questions
Additional questions are welcome.
Please send questions and comments to Kit Minnifield.
Responses will be posted to this page and/or forwarded to you.
REPORTING PROBLEMS
Book (monograph) problems
What should one do about an error in the catalog on a monographic bibliographic record?
What happens to problems sent to FIXIT?
I think that the call number on a [monographic] book should be changed. Who should I see?
I ordered a book several months ago and still have not received it. Why?
How can I tell if a newly cataloged paperbound book is at the bindery? How long will it be until I can check it out? Why did the catalog say "Shelf" but now says "At Bindery"?
Journal (serial) problems
Where should I report problems with serial records?
What happens to problems sent to SFIXIT?
How can I get serial summary holdings corrected?
How are serial claims generated?
How can I request that a journal issue be claimed?
Why are some issues not claimed when they should be? Why don't they show up in the automated claims lists?
What is the difference between a lapsed subscription and a subscription that needs to be claimed?
I inquired about a particular journal title that we have not received for the last eight months, and was told it had not been paid. How can this happen?
How can I tell if a serial/journal is at the bindery? How long will it be until it returns?
WORKFLOW / PROCEDURES
Miscellaneous
What is the procedure to have donated items added to the collection? What if an acknowledgement is needed? What if we need rush cataloging?
How long does it take for ASU dissertations/theses to reach the shelf? How is the process handled? How does one find out if the library has received a dissertation/thesis when it has not yet been entered in the catalog?
How long does it take newly received material to reach the shelf? Are there different time lags for different types of material and, if so, what are they?
What materials go on review? When do they go on review, and for how long?
Barcode labels
Why do you hide Barcode labels in places difficult for circulation staff to find quickly? My favorites are on title pages 20 or 30 pages into the book or the ones hidden on busy pages.
I need Barcode labels. Who should I contact?
Rush Cataloging
How long does "RUSH" cataloging take? Is it the same for all situations, such as, gifts, or foreign language materials, etc.?
How do I get an item that is "in process" or "under consideration" rush cataloged?
For more info on Rush turn around times, see Rush and Priority Materials.
WHO/WHERE
- I have a book that needs cataloging. Where do I take it?
SERIALS/PERIODICALS
Where can explanations be found for the various terms found in the catalog for status, holdings descriptions, check-in records (late meaning not here rather than arrived late), etc.? A glossary of terms would help.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
How do I interpret the status messages in Webpac?
In staff mode, in functions requiring password access, all records in III begin with a highlighted bar that includes dates for the following terms:
- last updated
- created date
- revisions
What do these terms and the corresponding dates actually mean?In staff mode, in functions requiring password access, when viewing a bibliographic record, what does "cat date" mean in the fixed field portion of the record?
GENERAL INFORMATION
What is the relationship between Preservation and the Technical Services binding units?
Is it ever appropriate to send a patron to Technical Services to obtain reference assistance from area specialists in Chinese, Japanese, and Slavic areas?
How can I request to be notified when a particular title is received?
End of Page TSR home page Technical Services home page
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
REPORTING PROBLEMS
Book (monograph) problems
What should one do about an error in the catalog on a monographic bibliographic record?
Report errors in monographic bibliographic records or items attached to monographic bibliographic records either to the Library System Help Desk (HelpSTAR), or to the FIXIT email account (fixit@asu.edu) which is maintained by the supervisor of Catalog Management in Technical Services.
Include the following information when reporting problems:Bibliographic record #: .b____________ (This information is not available in WEBPAC.)
Describe the problem: (Ex: I did an author search, but this record did not appear in the search results.)
Include search strategy information and webpac vs. telnet information when applicable.
Do not send a copy of the bibliographic record to the FIXIT account directly from III. There is no way to describe the problem or to include the sender's email address to confirm receipt or resolution of the problem. Instead, send a copy to your email address and then forward that email to the FIXIT account, including the above information.
What happens to problems sent to HelpSTAR or FIXIT?
All problems reported to HelpSTAR or to FIXIT (fixit@asu.edu) are normally investigated and corrections (when necessary) are made on a daily basis. If the physical piece is needed to verify the correction, the problem may not be resolved until the material is located. It may even be necessary to "recall" an item if it is checked out. In this case, the correction is completed as soon as the item is in hand.
Acknowledgement of receipt of the problem (if it can't be resolved immediately) or notification that the problem has been corrected is made for each problem report if the email address of the sender is available.I think that the call number on a [monographic] book should be changed. Who should I see?
Refer the problem to Catalog Management in Technical Services.I ordered a book several months ago and still have not received it. Why?
There are a number of reasons why you may not have received a book ordered that long ago.
The book may be out of print; and, therefore, unavailable. If this is the case, the vendor usually notifies the order librarian to cancel the order. The order librarian then cancels the order online and suppresses the record in OPAC. OR, if the book is out of print, the vendor may notify Acquisitions that they are searching the out-of-print market for the book. The Bibliographic Searching/Order Unit adds a note to the order record indicating that the book is out of print and is being searched. The record stays in OPAC as an active order.
The book may be out of stock. This is a somewhat more ambiguous state than out of print. "Out of stock" may refer to the vendor's inventory, or it may mean that the publisher is out of stock, but plans to reprint. In either case, the vendor considers this to be an open order and will supply the material as soon as they receive it.
The book may have been ordered from pre-publication information and is not yet published. Planned publication is sometimes delayed, so something ordered in the previous year may still not be published. The vendor will supply the item as soon as the material is published and shipped to them.
There may have been some problem with the bibliographic citation, and the vendor is having difficulty identifying the title. For example, materials ordered on the basis of bibliographies may not be accurate citations.
The book order may have been re-directed to another vendor or to the publisher. There are some publishers that do not deal with vendors. There is always a lag time between when a title is ordered and when we find out that the vendor can't supply it; so redirected orders take more than twice as long to get as orders that go through without problems.
Some materials published outside the United States and in non-English languages are difficult to get. Publishing patterns and distribution practices vary widely, and shipping to the U.S. adds to the delay for these materials.
Monographic orders not yet received are claimed regularly, but claiming does not necessarily insure a response from the vendor (nor does repeated claiming). If you have questions about a specific order, please call the Search/Order Unit at 965-5431.
How can I tell if a newly cataloged paperbound book is at the bindery? How long will it be until it can be checked out? Why did the catalog say "Shelf" but now says "At Bindery"?
Books at the bindery show the status At Bindery. When the title is first cataloged the status is New in Transit but that automatically changes to Shelf after 3 weeks. When the title is sent to the bindery the status is changed from Shelf to At Bindery. For more information, please go to the Technical Services Binding Schedules page.
Journal (serial) problems
Where should I report problems with serial records?
Report problems in serial records either to the Library System Help Desk (HelpSTAR), or to the SFIXIT email account (sfixit@asu.edu) which is maintained by the supervisor of Serials Holdings Maintenance in Technical Services.
Include the following information when reporting problems:Order, checkin or bibliographic record number (.o ____ , .c____, or .b ____) This information is not available in WEBPAC. Please telnet to III and use staff mode.
Describe the problem. Include webpac vs. telnet information and search strategy when applicable.
Do not send a copy of the catalog record to the SFIXIT account directly from III. There is no way to describe the problem or to include the sender's email address to confirm receipt or resolution of the problem. Instead, send a copy to your email address and then forward that email to SFIXIT with the above information included.
What happens to problems sent to HelpSTAR or to SFIXIT?
All problems reported to HelpSTAR or to the SFIXIT account (sfixit@asu.edu) are normally investigated and corrections (when necessary) are made on a daily basis. Acknowledgement of receipt of the problem (if it can't be resolved immediately) or notification that the problem has been corrected is made for each problem report if the email address of the sender is available.How can I get serial summary holdings corrected?
Serial Holdings Maintenance maintains serial summary holdings. Ask for a supply of "Summary Holdings Corrections Slips". Phone no. is 5-6112.How are serial claims generated?
Claims are not "automatically" generated and sent by the Innopac system. Instead, a claims program that is run weekly identifies potentially claimable issues and stores them in an online file to be reviewed by a staff member and claimed from there when applicable. Each claimable issue identified by the system must be reviewed by a staff member before it is sent to ensure that we are not claiming too early, claiming issues that are known to be unpublished or combined with a received issue, or claiming when there may be a more substantial problem like a lapsed subscription or payment dispute. Vendors and publishers caution that libraries should review claims before sending to achieve the best return rate. ASU adheres to this request by assigning a Library Assistant Senior to serials claiming and attendant responsibilities, such as recording vendor or publisher responses when they do not send the claimed issues.
Most serial claims are generated by one of three procedures on a weekly basis:Running the claims program against a previously-created list of records that have a particular set of characteristics (e.g., titles housed in specific locations or received from specific vendors); then visually reviewing each issue the system identifies as claimable to ensure that checkin patterns and no combined issues suggest a claim is needed.
Running the claims program against range of checkin record numbers; then visually reviewing each issue the system has identified as claimable to ensure that it should be claimed. This procedure is done against sequential ranges of numbers on an ongoing basis so that every checkin record in the system is run through the claims program at least twice a year.
Receiving customer requests for specific titles and/or issues.
How can I request that a journal issue be claimed?
If a particular issue has a status of "LATE" on the checkin card, you may request that we claim it by contacting Serials Receiving at 5-6101. Late issues that are not claimed in this manner are claimed through automated lists created and reviewed at least once a week by the Serials Receiving claims assistant.Why are some issues not claimed when they should be? Why don't they show up in the automated claims lists?
There are two main categories of subscriptions for which routine claims cannot be generated through the usual claims program:Subscriptions for which no "expected" issue boxes have been created;
Subscriptions for which we have not been billed for more than one year and so the subscription may have lapsed.
In April 2000 Technical Services initiated steps to help identify and correct these types of problems by:
Establishing a procedure to periodically review all checkin cards with no "expected" boxes and, where applicable, extrapolating future expected issues and ensuring that students are trained to extrapolate future expected issues when needed;
Using the "create lists" function to periodically generate lists of titles not paid to be reviewed by staff in the Serials Receiving and/or Accounting Units for potential payment problems or subscription lapses, and resolving the problems with vendors as possible;
Following up with e-mail or telephone calls to vendors as feasible to try to resolve particular claim problems.
The last option has occasionally been successful in getting claimed issues mailed to us. However, such customized follow-up must be balanced against staff time available and other unit priorities.
What is the difference between a lapsed subscription and a subscription that needs to be claimed?
Lapsed subscriptions are those that we have not received for more than one year, and that are supposed to be published on an annual or more frequent basis. These types of problems require more detailed attention and time to resolve than an issue that simply needs to be claimed. We have to ascertain the subscription period that the last payment covered; the last issue received; whether the title has ceased or been cancelled; how long ago the subscription lapse occurred; and price and availability for missed issues; cost to reinstate the subscription. Several factors must be taken into consideration before we decide whether to reinstate, e.g. How recently did the subscription lapse? What is the cost to replace all missed issues? Are all missed issues required, or do we need to reinstate the subscription only with the most current issue or year? Sometimes we need to communicate with the appropriate subject selector and Collection Development to determine whether a particular title is still required for our collection and must be reinstated, or whether it can simply be cancelled.
Routine claims can be sent only for subscriptions that have not lapsed, and only for one or a few issues. If more than a few sequential issues have been missed, the subscription may be in the process of lapsing and again requires more specialized attention.I inquired about a particular journal title that we have not received for the last eight months, and was told it had not been paid. How can this happen?
Ordinarily we receive renewal notices and/or invoices from vendors before our current subscription runs out, and we pay in advance to prevent a lapse in receipts. Sometimes, however, the vendor does not send a renewal notice or invoice due to an error in their records or in the publisher's records. In these cases, Serials Receiving notices the problem when receipts lapse or when someone inquires about the journal. Then we contact the vendor directly. Vendors usually will not bill us before they are billed by the publisher, and we cannot pay without renewal notification from the vendor. Because there are usually three parties involved in the payments (the Library, the vendor, and the publisher), it may take some time to resolve the problem.How can I tell if a serial/journal is at the bindery? How long will it be until it returns?
In Webpac, to find out if a serial or periodical was sent to the bindery, go into the Catalog. Search for the title you are interested in. Click on the link for that title. Click on Latest Received. Look for the notation, TO BIND. The date following TO BIND on denotes the date of the shipment to the bindery. A shipment is sent to the bindery bi-weekly on Fridays. These books are unavailable, even though the date you see is a future date. For more information, please go to the Technical Services Binding Schedules page.
WORKFLOW/PROCEDURES
Miscellaneous
What is the procedure to have donated items added to the collection? What if an acknowledgement is needed? What if we need rush cataloging?
Fill out a gift decision slip and send the material with the slip and information on the donor (name, address, etc.) to the Collections and Scholarly Communications Department. Unless the person receiving the material wants to send a letter of acknowledgement, the letter will be sent from the Collection Development office. If it needs to be rush cataloged, put a rush cataloging flag in the item with the gift decision slip. Also see the Libraries' book donations policy.How long does it take for ASU dissertations/theses to reach the shelf? How is the process handled? How does one find out if the library has received a dissertation/thesis when it has not yet been entered in the catalog?
Depending on staffing levels and other cataloging loads, ASU thesis/dissertations can take a few days to several months to go through the original cataloging routine.Two copies of each ASU master's thesis generally come in together. A call number is assigned, a brief record is put in the catalog, and the stacks copy is sent to Processing for labeling within a few days of receipt. The Archives copy is retained in Original Cataloging for full cataloging and subject analysis.
Two copies of doctoral dissertations come in separately, as one copy first goes to UMI for microfilming. Priority cataloging is given to the first copy received, but it can take a couple of weeks to a few months as this includes subject analysis. This first copy is cataloged for Archives. If the second copy comes in before full cataloging has been done, it is assigned a call number, given a brief record, and sent within a few days of receipt to Processing to be prepared for the stacks.
To find out if the library has received a dissertation/thesis not yet entered in the catalog, call the lead thesis cataloger in Original Cataloging at 965-9807.
How long does it take newly received material to reach the shelf? Are there different time lags for different types of material and, if so, what are they?
There isn't a quick answer to this question because there are so many variant factors involved: i.e. type of receipt, location decision needed while on review, quality of cataloging available, staffing and workloads throughout Technical Services. Technical Services conducted processing time studies of materials received in the department the week of July 21-25, 1998, to determine the number of days it took from the time materials arrived in the department until they were ready to be shelved. Below is a summary of the time study results:
Monographs:
Average time: 57 days
Serials:
Average time: 71 days
Periodicals:
Average time: 5 days
Scores:
Average time: 34 days
Responsibility for getting the books shelved belongs outside Technical Services. Once the materials is ready for shelving we take it to the sorting area on Level One. Access Services/Mail Room distributes it from there.
What materials go on review? When do they go on review, and for how long?
See Materials On Review.How do I review fund information?
Go to http://library.lib.asu.edu/manage. To view fund information: Choose "fund reports" under Acquisitions on the left side of the screen. You will be asked for your III initials and password. You will not be asked for the subject specialist or collection development login. If you have problems or have forgotten your initials or password please contact Fred McIlvain in LIST. You can download the fund information to your desktop and open it in Excel or other programs.
Barcode Labels
Why do you hide Barcode labels in places difficult for circulation staff to find quickly? My favorites are on title pages 20 or 30 pages into the book or the ones hidden on busy pages.
Our procedure is to place the Barcode labels on the title pages of paperbound books. Some publishers do place the title page far into the book and have very artistic title pages.I need Barcode labels. Who should I contact?
Library Instruction, Systems, and Technology (LIST) supplies Barcode labels. Staff outside of Technical Services should contact that department.
Rush Cataloging
How long does "RUSH" cataloging take? Is it the same for all situations, such as, gifts, or foreign language materials, etc.?
Any materials "RUSH" cataloged are generally available in 3 working days after receipt. See our department policy on rush and priority materials.How do I get an item that is "in process" or "under consideration" rush cataloged?
Fill out a "circulation request card" at the Circulation Desk asking for rush cataloging. Unfortunately, requests for these materials cannot be placed electronically at this time.
WHO/WHERE
I have a book that needs cataloging. Where do I take it?
It should be taken to the supervisor of Monographic Receiving/Copy Cataloging in Technical Services.
SERIALS/PERIODICALS
How long does it take to bind a periodical volume?
Our commercial bindery picks up binding from the library every two weeks (generally every other Friday). Regular shipments come back in approximately 21 calendar days. Rushes come back in approximately 14 calendar days.
Library locations pull issues they want bound and send them or bring them to Serial Holdings Maintenance. We must check the issues out to binding online, and verify bind information and variable spine information (volume and date), print the bind slips, and pack the volumes for pickup. When the bound volumes are returned, we unpack, sort by location, and check the spine information. The binding slips are used to checkin the volumes online, changing the status to "bound". This is done after the bound volumes have been taken or sent to the locations.
Depending on when the issues are pulled for binding, they may have a wait of 14 days or more before they leave the library. Other factors such as vacant positions and workload also affect; the time. We intend to do an actual time study of periodical binding in the near future.Where can explanations be found for the various terms found in the catalog for status, holdings descriptions, check-in records (late meaning not here rather than arrived late), etc.? A glossary of terms would help.
Check-in record statuses are defined below:
ARRIVED: Issue was checked in by Serials Receiving on the date displayed.
EXPECTED: Issue is expected to arrive on or about the date displayed. Expected dates are estimates based on past receipt patterns and/or information received from the journal's vendor or publisher.
LATE: Issue is overdue and needs to be CLAIMED.
LATE1, LATE2, etc.: Issue is overdue and has already been claimed the number of times indicated, but is due to be reclaimed.
CLAIMED1, CLAIMED2, etc.: Issue was not received within the expected timeframe, so a notice has been sent to the vendor stating that the issue has not been received and should be sent if available. The number after "claimed" indicates the number of times an issue has been claimed.
MISSING: Issue was received but is no longer on the shelf. We do not replace missing issues.
NULL or "blank" status: Issue was never published or was not received but is no longer available. This status is used in association with an explanatory free-text NOTE.
TO BIND: The issue was or will be sent to the bindery on the date indicated.
BOUND: Issue or volume has been bound, usually with other issues, and will be housed with bound serials rather than in Current Periodicals areas. The volume was received back from the bindery on the date indicated.Serial summary holdings descriptions:
Current issues in Current Periodicals - The current issues are sent to a current periodical location until they are bound. Frequency of binding depends on the frequency and thickness of the issues. The current periodical locations decide when to pull for binding.
Current issues in Current Periodicals until microfilm received - The current issues are sent to a current periodical location as they are received. The issues are not bound, but are withdrawn when the microfilm for those issues is received. Most microfilm reels cover one year of the publication.
Latest edition in Reference - The latest edition the Libraries has of the title is housed in Reference. Earlier editions are on the journal floor. Note that there may be a later edition published that we have not yet received.
Retains latest edition - The Libraries keeps only the latest edition we have received. When a new edition is received the previous edition is withdrawn.
Retains current issues - The Libraries subscribes to the title but does not bind and retain older issues or replace them with microform. The current periodical locations generally retain issues of current only titles for about one year.
Latest edition in Reference, next latest in Hayden Journals - The Libraries retain only the latest two editions received. The most recent is in Reference, the previous edition in on the serial floor.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Status messages in Webpac:
1 copy ordered for (branch) on (date of order) - book ordered, not yet received 1 copy being processed for (branch) - book has been received but not yet cataloged New in Transit - Newly cataloged title- this status changes to Shelf automatically after 504 hours (3 weeks). 1 copy under consideration for (branch) -An approval book for which we have loaded brief bibliographical information and an order record from a vendor supplied file. After the invoice has been paid that status changes to 1 copy being processed for (branch). Fully cataloged BNA approval titles have the status of New in Transit immediately when the records are loaded. After 504 hours (3 weeks) the status automatically changes to Shelf.In staff mode, in functions requiring password access, all records in III begin with a highlighted bar that includes dates for the following terms:
- last updated
- created date
- revisions
What do these terms and the corresponding dates actually mean?
When referring to all types of records, the terms mean the same thing:
- last updated: The last time something was added, changed or deleted in the fixed or variable fields. Unfortunately it is not possible to determine what was actually changed.
- created date: The first time any record appeared in III. The "created date" of a bibliographic record may not be the same as the "created date" of an order, check-in or item record attached to that bibliographic record.
- revision: The number of times the record has been changed in any way in the fixed or variable fields.In III Millennium, in functions requiring password access, when viewing a bibliographic record, what does "cat date" mean in the fixed field portion of the record?
"Cat date" refers to the last time a version of the full bibliographic record was loaded into III. It could refer to:
- the date when the full bibliographic record was first loaded, or
- the date the full record was "overlaid" with another (updated) version of that record from OCLC.
GENERAL INFORMATION
What is the relationship between Preservation and the Technical Services binding units?
Technical Services has two binding units, Monographic Processing and Serials Holdings Maintenance. A book that needs to be bound is routed to one of these two areas depending if the book is a monograph or a serial. Preservation works closely with these units. All damaged books go to Preservation where they are evaluated. Some damaged books can be repaired in-house. Damaged books that can not be repaired in-house are sent by Preservation to Monographic Processing or Serials Holdings Maintenance, who prepares them for shipment to the bindery.Is it ever appropriate to send a patron to Technical Services to obtain reference assistance from area specialists in Chinese, Japanese, and Slavic areas?
Yes. Although Special Languages (the Non-Roman Acquisitions and Cataloging unit) is part of Original Cataloging, part of their function is public service. Please call first. (480) 965-1498.How can I request to be notified when a particular title is received?
Fill out a "circulation request card" at the Circulation Desk asking to be notified. Unfortunately, new receipts cannot be requested electronically at this time.
