SRT History

 

Appendix C

 

 Title Varies 1(3), April 1974, p. 20: Permission of Hal Hall, A & M University

 

  1. Anything which can be done to complicate a serial, will be.
  2. Anything which can go wrong with a serial subscription, will.
  3. Corollary I:  No matter what result is anticipated, the actual case will vary from it.
  4. Corollary II:  No matter what correspondence is issued, it will be either ignored or misinterpreted.
  5. In any abnormal situation, that item which is most obviously correct, beyond all need of checking, is the error.
  6. Corollary I:  No one of whom help is asked will see the mistake either.
  7. Corollary II:  Everyone of whom help is not asked will see the mistake immediately.
  8. The more innocuous a change in serials records appears, the more difficulties it will cause later.
  9. Financial requirements for serial publications increase at an exponential rate; available funds increase at a linear rate.
  10. Corollary I:  Price increases exceed expectations by at least 5 percent.
  11. Corollary II:  Delayed billings and currency exchange costs run 10 percent higher than the highest logical estimate.
  12. Ninety percent of all serial publications are junk; of these, 10% are gross errors.
  13. There are no valid decision rules of the selection of serial publications.
  14. Corollary I:  No matter what title is selected, use will not justify its purchase.

15.  Corollary II:  No matter what title is not selected, its utterly essential nature will be immediately and loudly proclaimed.  If then ordered, Corollary I applies.

  1. The insanity rate among serials librarians is directly proportional to the rate of increase of serial titles, and indirectly proportional to the number of serials librarians leaving the field.

 

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