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Serials Exchange
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Serials Exchange
We provide previously owned serials and reference materials to libraries and librarians within
the region at a cost affordable to most institutions. We accomplish this through two services:
the Periodical Request Service and the Special Sets List.
Serials Exchange Program Discontinued
The Serials Exchange program will end effective October 1, 2008.
We will accept donations to the program through August 1, 2008. If you need to make arrangements
to have MINITEX/U of M shipping pick up these materials, we need notification before July 15, 2008.
After August 1, 2008, all periodical request forms will be returned to the libraries that sent them
to us.
On September 1, 2008, the last Special Sets list will be sent out. Orders for the items on the list
will be filled and sent out September 15, 2008.
On October 1, 2008, the Serials Exchange program closes.
Why Is Serials Exchange Closing?
Our staff has operated the MINITEX Serials Exchange Program since 1974 and libraries have been
supplied with hundreds of thousands of journal issues and recently discarded reference books at far
less than the original cost of the material.
We analyzed the program in some depth including which libraries are using the program and what the
program was costing. In reviewing this information, our conclusion what that while this program was
important in its first 20 years, and while it appears to be important to some of the smaller libraries
in our region, it is not a sustainable program and we no longer can afford to subsidize it, nor can we
use our state appropriations to subsidize it.
We will continue to maintain a Serials Exchange listserv as a place for libraries to use for discards
and to notify others who may be interested in what is available. We will only maintain this listserv if
it is used.
Alternate Options for Library Discards
Some options for your library discards are listed below. Each has requirements therefore you should make
a contact and find out what they will accept and what they won't accept. Please check out the details on
their Web sites.