In December the University Libraries reached a significant milestone in the automation of our collections and services with the implementation of LSER (pronounced "el-sir"), the serials check-in module of the NOTIS system. NOTIS is made up of many parts. You are probably most familiar with the online public access catalog, the OPAC, which we named UNLOC, the University of Notre Dame Libraries' Online Catalog, back in 1987 when it was first installed. The other parts of NOTIS appear as features of UNLOC while in reality they are separate modules. When you view an UNLOC record you are seeing the tips of some very large icebergs.

LTMN is the subsystem that allows for the process-ing, storage and editing of bibliographic records in machine readable form (MARC). It is the heart of NOTIS and was part of the original installation. Modules added over the last decade have included CIRC (circulation), MSYS (multiple database system), PSYS (public access catalog system) and the acquisi-tions module (sorry, no acronym). CIRC stores all patron or user records and keeps track of the circulation status of individ-ual items. It generates some of those "Status" messages which you see in UNLOC (e.g., "check shelf" or "charged, due 10/1/96"). MSYS provides access to periodical indexes and links them to our holdings as recorded in LTMN. PSYS gives us access to various NOTIS library catalogs throughout Indiana, including Indiana University and Purdue. The acquisi-tions and LTMN modules keep track of items which have been ordered or received but not yet cataloged and generate the "on order" and "in process" messages which appear under "Status." And finally LSER now allows us to check in serials (magazines, newspapers, periodicals and journals) and keep track of them before they are bound or filmed.

LSER is, then, the last brick in the wall of our current NOTIS system, the last module to come online. Of course there are many improvements yet to be made to our system, and, someday, a new system with a graphical interface and hotlinks will need to be purchased. But for now it is complete. We can track all items (well, almost all items -- there are always exceptions) from the placement of an order, to receipt, through cataloging, to the shelf. We can then keep a record of the status of that item for as long as it is part of the collection. And all of this data is immediately available to you.

LSER allows us to track a given issue or volume of a serial from its receipt through the binding or filming process to its final shelving or filing. Over the next year you will see "current issue" information begin to appear on holdings screens, first on records for weeklies like Time and Newsweek, then on monthlies, then quarterlies, etc., until all of our serials appear in UNLOC upon arrival. Annuals are posted directly to the holdings statement on receipt. Also, given the unruly nature of many serials, some will need to be checked in and tracked using the order/pay/receipt feature (OPR) of the Acquisitions module. The display in UNLOC will look the same whichever subsystem is being used.

This additional holdings information will address many questions users currently have regarding serials, such as:

"What is the latest issue of this journal received by the Libraries and where is it?"

Just look for the first entry under "current issues" on the holdings screens (called "pages" in UNLOC) for the relevant location. Entries are displayed in descending chronological order -- latest received, first displayed (last in, first out or "LIFO"). Please note that the posting of bound or filmed holdings follows a different order, first bound or filmed, first displayed (first in, first out or "FIFO"). If you want to know if a specific older volume was received and bound or filmed by the Libraries, you must continue to read through the holdings screens until you find a posting (or lack thereof) for the volume and issue you need.

"When can I expect the next issue of this item to arrive?"

Again, on the holdings screen look under "current issues" and scan the list for a pattern. It is usually quite obvious whether a title is regular and well behaved, in which case you can easily estimate the anticipated arrival date, or irregular and disorderly, in which case your guess may be as good as ours. If you have any difficulty interpreting a record, please come to a reference desk and we'll be happy to make as much sense of the situation as possible. With some serials there is little or no sense to be made.

For annuals and similar titles the record of actual receipt dates does not display in UNLOC but can be tracked down in the LTMN system by individuals at our reference desks (in some cases the item may be received several years after the date(s) of coverage specified in the title). Also, the receipt of titles in monographic series, given some series' highly eccentric publication schedules, is difficult to predict. But such information as we have is again available in LTMN and accessible by reference personnel. (Monographic series are made up of individual titles linked by a common title and received over time, some quite regularly and some not, some looking very much like a serial and some linked to each other only by the fact that they are produced by the same publisher.)

There is one unfortunate consequence of giving you this extra information. The sheer quantity of additional data will cause the number of holdings screens to increase. There will be more "stuff" to wade through. This is particularly important in that the information about current issues comes first, including the various locations for many serials, while the holdings information for bound or filmed volumes usually appears on the later screens. This is the spot that tells you the latest issue that has been bound or filmed. We trust that this additional effort will be small price to pay for the possibility of tracking a serial from receipt to storage, from the cradle to the grave.

Though we have finished building the basic structure of our online catalog, there is always room for improvement. Therefore we will continue to work at refining the system until the time comes for its replacement. We welcome and encourage your suggestions.