Trade Journals are an important part of professional development, enabling you to keep current on new trends, upcoming events, and on-going research in your industry. But they can easily become an organizing nightmare. If you are feeling overwhelmed with these materials, here are some tips to help you get your subscriptions under control:

• Reduce the Volume -- The first step is to reduce the number of subscriptions you receive. If you are receiving more than you can realistically keep up with, it can easily become a source of frustration and guilt. Pick your favorites and unsubscribe from the rest.
• Is it Available Online? -- Many industries have online research databases that cover a wide range of topics. The primary advantage to these databases is that you can enter keywords, search thousands of articles, and get useful results in a matter of seconds. You can also avoid having to sort and store them. Can any of your current paper-based trade journals be found online?
• Create a Retention Strategy -- How many issues do you need to keep for each publication? Six months worth? One year? Once you decide how long, assign this process to one person in your office. When a new issue arrives, this individual will file it in the appropriate place and dispose of the oldest one. If the trade journal is only being used by you, then the ‘tear, read and scan’ method might be best. Flip through the journal and tear out any articles of interest and toss the rest, then read the articles and scan them to create an electronic copy that you can reference at a later date.
• Storage Options -- Now how do you store the remaining trade journals? Magazine files provide a great storage solution for the trade journals you are keeping for future reference. Make sure to label the magazine files so it is easy to find what you need when you need it. This also makes it easier for employees to return them to their "home". Binders are also an option if the publication is thin enough.

Without a process in place to handle your trade journals, they will very quickly become another pile collecting dust. Follow these steps and turn your pile into a useful resource for your office!