Background

This workflow is in reference to Acquisitions/Resource Management implementers topic #54, and is intended for requirements analysis. The topic was initially raised by Sara Colglazier.

Definitions

Bound volume - a group of periodical issues of the same title that are bound together after publication. A bound volume may or may not reflect a periodical "volume".
Bound volume unit - the number of issues/pieces associated with a given volume which are bound together to create a bound volume.
Volume - the top level of enumeration of a serial (journal or periodical.) Volumes increment on a periodic basis, with annual increments being the most common. Some periodicals use the year in place of the volume number.
Issue - the second level of enumeration of a serial. When present, issues are associated with a given volume, and reset when the volume increments (e.g. Vol 86 Issue 6 → Vol 87 Issue 1). Some periodicals use the month in place of the issue.
Supplement - an additional piece associated with a given Volume, but published outside the standard Volume/Issue structure. May or may not be present.
Index - an index to a given Volume, published outside the standard Volume/Issue structure. May or may not be present.

System must understand and track multiple levels serials enumeration
- Ideally this is independent of specific enumeration (i.e., the system thinks in terms of "Level 1, Level 2" rather than "Volume, Issue" or "Year, Month")
- System should account for supplements and indexes
System must know what issues have been received, and to which volumes those issues belong.
Ideally system will differentiate between an item's enumeration labels and interstitial "volumes" and "issues" that may or may not have one or more items attached
- This will either be at the Holdings level or between the Holdings and Item levels
System should support recall functionality
System "awareness" of arrived pieces will ideally be independent of the existence of item records
- "We received this piece but chose not to create an item for it"

Understand whether the library wants to bind all volumes, a certain number of volumes, or a specific set of volumes
- Example: the library receives 5 copies of the University Journal of Academic Stuff. Does the library bind all 5?
- If the library does not bind all 5, how many should be bound?
- If the library does not bind all 5, does it matter which specific copies are bound together? Is the library binding just the Copy 1s or do they want the copies in the best condition, or does it really matter?
Understand the number of issues that constitute a bound volume, factoring in the possibility of an index and/or supplement.
Understand how many issues past the bound volume unit the system should delay before the issues forming a bound unit should be sent to the bindery.
- Example: the library wants the first 3 issues of the current volume of the University Journal of Academic Stuff to arrive before sending the previous volume to the bindery.

The library receives issues of a given periodical on a regular basis. The library tracks which volume/issues are received.
The system notes when the conditions for a bound volume have been met.
When the required number of issues beyond the bound volume unit has arrived, the bindery process itself begins.

Individual issues forming the bound volume(s) are pulled from the shelves. If item records exist, they are set to a status of "bindery" or some other unavailable status.
- If required issues are checked out, the recall mechanism should optionally be triggered
- Ideally, a checked-out item flagged for bindery should trigger a circulation warning on return to assign a status of bindery and route the item to appropriate staff
- Ideally, claims for undelivered issues will have been processed by this point.
The items are sent to the bindery for physical processing
When the bound volumes return from the bindery, they should be processed in.

Volumes should be received and processed as items (stamping, stripping, barcoding)
Holdings should be updated and condensed to reflect bound volumes rather than individual issues
Items associated with issues should be deleted

Volumes should be received and processed as items (stamping, stripping, barcoding)
Holdings should be updated and condensed to reflect bound volumes rather than individual issues.

University Library receives 5 copies of the University Journal of Academic Stuff. As UJAS is a University publication, University Library maintains an archival collection of the journal.
Standard procedure for the Library is that three of the five copies will be bound. One bound copy goes to the Reference collection, one goes on reserve, the final circulates.
UJAS follows a standard volume/issue format and comes out 6 times a year on a regular bimonthly schedule. Volumes are based on academic years.
Over the course of an academic year, University Library receives Vol. 86, Issues 1-6. The issues are stored, distributed and displayed according to library policy.
During the following academic year, University Library receives Vol. 87, Issues 1-3. The bindery conditions for Vol. 86 have been met.
Library staff, following library procedure, gather 3 copies of each issue of Vol. 86 to be bound.
Each gathered copy of each issue associated with an item record is placed in a "bindery" status before being sent to the bindery.
The bindery assembles the issues into 3 bound volumes
The library receives the bound volumes and processes them in.
Library holdings and catalog display are updated to reflect the shift from individual issues to bound volumes
Any existing item records associated with now-bound issues are removed from the system.

Handling when a bound volume does not reflect a published volume
- A published volume may be extremely large, so the library chooses to split each published volume into 2 bound volumes (e.g. Vol 86 part 1, Vol 86 part 2)
- A library may opt to save money by binding 2 or more published volumes together, particularly with smaller journals (e.g. Vol 86-87)
A serial may deviate from its publication pattern, causing the bound volume unit calculation to be incorrect
System logic for addressing missing issues which cannot be replaced
Is bindery a function of Acquisitions or Inventory?
Consortium impact?