Information Services DeWitt Wallace Library Macalester College
There are several steps to proofing the bound volumes once they are returned from binding. The steps are basically the same for items that are bound in-house and those that are bound commercially, with some important exceptions - see PROOFING COMMERCIALLY BOUND VOLUMES for details... Proofing is primarily performed by students working at the Information desk.

    Three checks are made for each volume:

  1. Check the contents against the information on the binding slip.
      2. Common mistakes:
    • issues bound out of order
    • issue missing but not noted on the label
    • issue from wrong volume/year included
    • "ALSO ON MICROFICHE" or "Compact Shelving" label excluded, etc.
  2. Check the label against what was listed on the slip. They should match exactly.
      3. Common mistakes:
    • a line was left off the label
    • words are misspelled
    • the spacing is off, etc.
  3. Check the binding job itself.
      4. Common mistakes:
    • issues bound too tight (not enough shims used so it doesn't open easily)
    • rivets go through the words
    • some of the issues were not "caught" by the rivets (it was bound too close to the edge)
    • label is upside-down, etc.

IF THERE IS ANY PROBLEM WITH THE VOLUME, LEAVE THE SLIP ATTACHED, MAKE A CLEAR NOTE OF THE PROBLEM ON THE SLIP, AND SET THESE ASIDE (ON THE PROBLEM SHELF BEHIND THE LL DESK) FOR A SUPERVISOR TO REVIEW

  • Save each and every slip of each proofed volume for the Supervisor to review. These should be placed in the supervisor's bin behind the Periodicals Information Desk. If a journal was simply repaired and does not have a slip attached or if the slip is missing information, make a new slip or add the necessary information.

  • If the volume is 100% okay, property stamp it near the center of the top and bottom edges (top cover up/flat side of stamp down for consistency).

  • Once the journals are proofed, they need to be set aside so that barcodes can be attached and item records created. Only experienced and trained students will be doing this job. DO NOT SHELVE THE VOLUMES.

    When all volumes have been proofed and set aside for barcoding, return the binding cart to the binding room.

  • The Supervisor or a trained student manager will review all the slips.

  • After the Supervisor has reviewed the slips, s/he will set them aside for the final step. Millennium is updated to show that the issues are now marked bound and the slips are recycled. This work should only be performed by students who have been trained and directed to do it.
Table of Contents Binding Contents


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