A computer‐based serials control system for a large biomedical library

Rather than reiterate the obvious purposes and procedures involved in creating a computer system for control of serials, in this paper the author deals with the concept upon which the UCLA system is based and the manner in which the system is maintained in day‐to‐day operations of the UCLA Biomedical Library. The paper deals with some of the points made in an earlier publication from the UCLA serials project. The attempt is to show how the theory of publication pattern (discussed in the earlier article) has been used to produce a different idea in computer control of serials. Publication pattern information which is entered into the master record for each title causes check‐in cards for the next expected issue of each title to be generated by the computer, regardless of when this next issue is expected—next week, next month, next year. This is a departure from most systems, which attempt to predict a certain number of issues which should arrive during a given time period. The information, which must be a part of the computer record, is described, as are library procedures in maintaining the system.