This paper endeavours to cover the work of subscription agents in general, but with particular emphasis on the services offered by members of the Association of Subscription Agents.
The generic term for the publications supplied through subscription agents is serials. These may also be known as journals, periodicals, magazines and series.
A serial may be published on a regular basis e.g. weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, etc., or at irregular intervals.
They may be published in a variety of formats: paper, CD-ROM, diskette, tape and on-line through the Internet, WWW or through the dial up services.
Although most serials continue indefinitely, some have a limited lifespan.
In addition many agents supply monographic series which are either shipped direct by the publishers, or handled through the agent. These publications are often invoiced at the time of supply of each volume, unlike subscriptions to journals which are charged annually in advance and usually posted direct by the publisher.
There has always been a danger of over simplifying the process of acquisition and supply. The library user's view is quite straightforward. You order a year's subscription. You pay the supplier's bill, and there is nothing to do except check in the copies as they arrive a few days after publication. There is often a similar view in publishers' offices. It is regarded as a simple clerical operation, suitable for low grade staff. It does not matter if arbitrary decisions are made about the format, title, extra volumes, etc. Worst of all, because it is a simple clerical operation, when a computer package comes along they adopt it, often with disastrous results.
However, in the last few years, publishers and agents have increasingly shared their experiences, and the position has greatly improved.