RESOURCE CENTRE MANUAL
HEALTHLINK WORLDWIDE
periodicals can be kept in the same box, to save space. Each box should be clearly
labelled with the title of the periodicals in it, and the years of publication and
volume numbers. Issues of each periodical should be arranged in the order of their
volume and issue number, starting with the first volume and issue number and
continuing to the most recent.
There are two choices about where to keep periodicals. They can either be kept
together in a separate section of the resource centre, arranged by title, or they can
be put on the shelves (in pamphlet boxes) with books and other materials on the
same subject. Keeping periodicals with books can help to bring them to the
attention of users who are interested in a range of materials on a particular subject.
However, a separate section may also be needed for periodicals that cover a wide
range of subjects.
If funds are available, it might be worth having complete volumes of periodicals
bound. However, before doing this, it is important to consider how long each
periodical will be kept, and how often it will be used. For example, news magazines
are useful for a shorter period than other periodicals containing less time-specific
information. Instead of keeping the whole periodical, useful articles could be
catalogued and kept in a filing cabinet.
5.5.3 Filing materials
It is important to keep materials such as leaflets, brochures and annual reports in a
way that makes them easy to find. These materials can kept either on the shelves (in
pamphlet boxes) with books and other materials on the same subject, or in filing
cabinets, filed by subject or organisation name, depending on how the information
is most likely to be sought. If there are a lot of materials, such as leaflets about
many different organisations, they could be filed first by geographical area and then
by organisation name.
5.5.4 Displaying materials
There are a number of reasons for displaying materials in a resource centre.
Displays help to highlight new materials, and encourage people to use them. An
attractive display adds colour and interest to the resource centre, and shows that
staff are actively providing a good service.
New books, periodicals or other materials should be displayed in a ‘display area’ of
the resource centre for between a week and a month (depending on how often new
materials arrive), so that users can see them before they are put on the shelves.
Details of new materials should be included on noticeboards elsewhere in the
organisation, to promote them to those who do not visit the resource centre
regularly (see Section 8.2: Promoting the resource centre).
Current issues of periodicals are usually displayed on display racks, arranged
alphabetically by title. Each time a new issue arrives, the previous issue should be
removed and put in the appropriate pamphlet box.
SECTION 5: ORGANISING THE INFORMATION
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