Information Today
Volume 17, Issue 7 • July/August 2000
Sagebrush Corp. Unveils New Serials Manager Program

Sagebrush Corp., a solutions provider for the education and library markets, has announced the release of Serials Manager, a stand-alone program designed to streamline management of magazines, journals, and other periodicals in all types of libraries. The Serials Manager program enhances management of subscriptions, vendors, receiving, routing, and claims, and also provides a number of reports.

“Managing serials in a library is usually a formidable task,” said Jay Stead, Sagebrush Corp. president and CEO, “but it doesn’t have to be. Using Serials Manager, librarians can successfully manage all types of serials with improved efficiency, cost reduction, and increased patron access.”

“When we started developing Serials Manager,” Stead said, “we went straight to the experts: our customers. With their suggestions, we developed the program that library professionals in public, corporate, special, and school libraries need to streamline serials management.”

“In developing Serials Manager, Sagebrush created a versatile program for convenient stand-alone use, or to facilitate use with existing automation programs,” Stead said.

According to Stead, library professionals can choose to create a MARC record for each issue, which can be easily imported into any automation program, including Sagebrush’s Athena and Winnebago Spectrum programs, along with common programs from other vendors.

“In addition,” Stead said, “Serials Manager highlights our company’s commitment to providing a broad array of solutions for library professionals. Sagebrush is committed to developing solutions for Athena and Winnebago Spectrum users. We will continue to meet the needs of our current customers at the same time we show other library professionals how our products and services can make their lives better.”

Serials Manager has the flexibility to easily manage any number of subscriptions. Using Serials Manager, librarians can create and modify subscription information including title, publisher, publication pattern, quantity, cost, ISSN, start date, and duration. Serials Manager provides the freedom to add, edit, or delete subscription information exactly when needed.

Because Serials Manager integrates with existing library automation systems through the MARC 21 standard, librarians can import records so patrons can search for and find serials simultaneously with a library’s other materials in the online catalog. The program can assign each issue a cover date, volume number, and issue number, defining a pattern for each serial to help librarians and staff handle various frequencies, such as annually, monthly, weekly, daily, and special issues.

Serials Manager’s comprehensive vendor information makes ordering, billing, claiming, and any other vendor-related activities easier and more convenient. Librarians and staff can add, edit, and delete any vendor information at any time to ensure accurate, current vendor information.

With Serials Manager’s receiving capabilities, librarians and staff can quickly and easily check in individual issues as they arrive, as well as batch receive several issues at once. Plus, Serials Manager automatically predicts the arrival data of the next regular issue, even when you check in extra or special issues.

Serials Manager helps librarians and staff create, customize, edit, and delete routing lists, then assign them to subscriptions so every issue arrives “ready to route.” The program can also print a master list of routing lists for reference and maintenance.

Furthermore, Serials Manager helps eliminate the hassles of subscription problems and claiming overdue or missed issues. Serials Manager’s three customizable claim letters enable librarians to communicate with vendors who owe one or more missing issues. Vendor information is combined with claiming information to automatically create claim notices, which are easily customized for each situation. Serials Manager’s claim features help libraries recover missed issues faster, and put the information patrons need within their immediate reach.

Serials Manager’s report functions help librarians and staff create comprehensive reports such as the following:

Serials Manager is introductory priced at $695, includes 1 year of customer support, and is available for both Windows and Mac.

Source: Sagebrush Corp., Burnsville, MN, 888/753-7243, 512/890-5484; http://www.sagebrushcorp.com.


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