Magazine Checkout

[Natalie Weatherman]

This is a silly, trivial thing, but I am wondering if anyone would mind sharing how you do magazine checkout in your media center/library.  Right now my system is okay, but it leads to a few headaches for both me and the kids.

 

I am looking for improvements for next year.

 

Thank you!!!!

[Eric Bateman]

This probably isn't what you want to hear, but for our 9-12 library, magazines have become consumables. The new issues are available on the rack -- the old ones, given away to anybody who wants them (some circulate among teachers after they've had their time in the library). Some I keep for sentimental purposes (mostly professional journals and National Geographic, which I can't bear to part with). But for the most, the current issue is the only one we hold on to. Helps the giant economy-size Motrin® bottle last longer!

[Donna Forester]

You don't say whether you are elementary, middle or high school--I am in an elementary school. For student magazines, we check out back issues and keep the most recent issue in a clear plastic magazine cover to be read in the library until the next issue comes in. At the end of the school year, we discard the back issues. Over the summer, we get enough issues to get started in September.

[Natalie Weatherman]

I am at a middle school. Currently we keep the all magazines for 3-10 years depending on its purpose. What I am most curious about is the system you use to check magazines out. I am currently using a card system, where the kids write the date and name of the magazine on the check-out card and then I scan the card.

Just looking to see if there is a better system. Kids don't always write the correct date or name on the card and then they have overdue magazines (that have actually been returned). OR they come in with an overdue notice that reads "periodical overdue" and I don't know which one.

[Alison Lattimore]

In our library (10th-12th), we have a small form that has just the name of the magazine, the issue, the borrower's name and the current date to check out magazines. We keep this at the circulation desk in a tray until the student returns the magazine. Prior to the end of last year, we didn't allow them to take out the magazines at all, but I suggested that we do because we are there to encourage reading and magazines are a part of that. We also decided that if some of the magazines got lost, it was okay as we end up getting rid of them every three years anyway. Having the students use them was more important than just having them in the library!.

Alison

[Tracy Woodward]

I have some plastic envelopes that are barcoded. I put the magazine in there and sign out. It doesn't tell you what magazine they have, but it beats barcoding them all or something. They usually know what magazine it is, and if they lose the magazine, I just charge them $5.

[Pauline MacDonald-Smith]

We are a K-8 school with 350 students and most of our magazines are used by students in grades 3-6. All our magazines are given a bar code and taped on the spine. All are available to be signed out and when they wear out they are recycled. We keep many back issues for teachers/students to use for pictures, etc. It is amazing that most of them last the year because as you know, they are not very sturdy.

[Julie Udy]

i barcode the item as i do a book with as simple information provided--title and date of issue (in the title line)
i change the format to Magazine-i catalog it with a barcode, put in the price and in the call number location i write in Mag.

Quick and easy. It works great. I delete magazines by year, so when i think i have deleted all of the 2005 issues, if there is still one on the computer i will delete that. i don't very often do an inventory of the magazines--it isn't worth the time.

[Julie Udy]

I forgot to mention--i recycle the barcodes when i delete the magazines--on our system i barwand them in--copy the list of barcodes--print off the barcodes with only the numbers and the name of the school--paste the list of barcodes into my delete screen and hit the delete button

[Lisa B.]

This year I created a Self Checkout Magazine Policy. Students in grade 2 - 4 are responsible for checking in and checking out their own magazines on a form. I teach the skill and then choose a different student to oversee the clipboard in each class. Students seem to like the job, the process and magazines circulation has increased.

[Nancy Antonuccio]

I place barcodes on a few plastic covers without cataloging them and use these covers when an issue is going out. This way I can reuse the cover regardless of the title. Then when using Destiny, our circ. system, I add a title at the moment of check out. I can scan the barcode and then type in the name and month of the magazine only. This way the overdue notices have the needed info. on it. Back issues rarely last longer than a few months because Language Arts teachers love to cut them apart in class!