Periodical Routing for HS

[Elaine]

Hi All, I am wondering how best to implement a periodical routing service for the faculty and staff of a high school.

Specifically:
subscription (how and where does one sign up-webform, hardcopy paper, etc.)

what information should be contained on the routing slip

format/placement of routing slip

circulation (teacher to teacher, duration, etc.)

and any other helpful tips and ideas I may not even know to consider!

Fortunately, I have the flexibility to make this as high-tech or low-tech as wanted, needed, or desired!

[Pat Ropchan]

Hello,
You can just keep a paper list (easy) or sign out magazines through your library program. Our OPAC allows us to circulate uncatalogued items. We have a set of barcode numbers that we use just for this purpose. We sometimes (rarely) use routing slips (including everyone in the department) but have found that the magazine doesn't get very far, tends to stay on someone's desk or at someone's house and generally doesn't come back.

I have asked my assistant to photocopy content pages of professional magazines to put in the mailboxes of the Curriculum Leaders. If they are interested, they can sign out the magazines and then talk about them with their departments.

Pat

[Roselle]

We circulate about 30 different professional journals to our teaching staff. We use the cards from Library Store to record the journal information etc. We send out a list of journals at the beginning of the year asking staff to sign up to receive the titles that appeal. After we get the lists back, we set up circulation lists. Anything that has 5 or more readers gets routed to each person individually. Anything that has fewer than 5 subscribers gets routed with a paper list. Popular journals will be sent to a single reader for 5 days. If the person does not have the time to read the journal just then, they note it on the form and return it to us. We then note to send the journal back to the reader when it has finished circulating.

Readers are encouraged to pass along or return items in a timely fashion. I'm thinking of having some rewards attached to the next journal routed to an especially conscientious reader.

Otherwise, our journals would sit and collect dust. . .
Roselle