Periodicals Procedure Guide:

Reference and Index Titles

Last update 02/27/2020

        Some periodicals are reference materials. You can tell which are such in Voyager, by the holding location being  “Ref Collect.” The more common ones you’ll see are Value Line and Mergent titles, which arrive weekly. (Pay attention to the note too- some might say reference in the holding location, but are actually not, and vice versa; always follow the note in those cases).

        In the same way, some are indexes; the holding location for these are, naturally, “Indexes.” (Similar to above, the note might say the location is/isn’t index despite what holdings say).

1. Receive the title

1.1 When receiving those titles, do the following:

1. Check in, stamp, and claim like regular periodical titles.

2. Label:

• For reference materials, the first line of the label should be “REF”.
• For index, the first line of the label should be “INDEX”.

• If it the note says to discard when the annual comes in, use a handwritten label.
• If it is one that is kept (usually those are hardcover), use a printed label. However, these types usually are sent to acquisitions (note will say).

3. What to do with them once processed:

• Put reference select reference titles (i.e.: Value Line Investment Survey, Value Line Investment Survey Fund Advisor, Value Line Investment Survey Small & Midcap, Mergent Dividend Record) in the [Circulation] mailbox.
• Put Reference items and Indexes on the bound periodical shelf next to the staff elevator, on the first floor.  They will be shelved on the lower level, in the vicinity of bound periodicals, by the student workers.

1.2 Disposal of reference materials:

1. The reference desk sends back reference titles for disposal. They’ll usually be placed on the corner of your desk.
2. Suppress them from OPAC in accordance to the instructions on the pop-up note. Some have various parts which are treated differently when suppressing (For example, “Value Line Fund Advisor” has part 1 and 2 return before 3, so it is only suppressed when part 3 is returned, even though 1 and 2 are already disposed of.)
3. Trash.