Reading lesson: Print periodicals
Periodicals differ from books in many ways, so they will be discussed separately. In this lesson we will focus on their basic characteristics and their use in the SZTE Klebelsberg Library.
Periodicals
What are periodicals and what are their characteristics?
Types of periodicals
How are periodicals categorized?
Periodicals in the Library
How and where can periodicals be found in the library?
Periodicals
In today’s fast-paced world, one of the most important requirements to accquire knowledge is to have information available to people as quickly as possible. Books can hardly meet this requirement, considering that the writing of a book, especially one that is several hundred pages long, takes a lot of time and effort, with the printing process being highly time-consuming as well. In fact, it is even possible that by the time a book is written, some of the information it contains is already outdated.
The need for the latest news and timely information arose relatively early in the history of humanity, and it was during the Age of Enlightenment that newspapers and periodicals started appearing in the form which is familiar to us today. Eventually, they became forums for current information on an increasingly wider scale in society, with their most characteristic feature being that they are published more or less periodically. That is why they are referred to collectively as periodical publications or, simply, periodicals.
Definition
A periodical is a published work that appears at regular intervals with new content. The most common examples are newspapers, magazines or journals. These publications cover a wide variety of subjects, from scientific, technical, commercial and general interest to leisure and entertainment. Periodicals are serial publications.
Fun fact
Even ancient Romans had a desire to be informed about daily events. For this purpose, they relied on the Acta Diurna, the ancestor of today’s newspapers, which informed its readers not only about political events but also about everyday life.
The general characteristics of periodicals
- They contain the latest information in a given field.
- They do not provide comprehensive information, instead focusing on information related to research and results, new methods, or new phenomena.
- When launched, the duration for which they are published is not predetermined.
- The publications are published consecutively, issue by issue, and several issues typically form a volume.
- They are numerically identified according to certain standards (e.g., Vol. 1, No. 1 --> Vol. 1, No. 2).
- They are published continuously and regularly.
- They are available in printed and/or in electronic form.
- They must contain an imprint*.
- They must have an ISSN*.
Imprint
An imprint provides information about the editor(s), the publisher, and the printing house of a periodical.
Types of periodicals
Periodicals are most often and most commonly categorized on the basis of the frequency of their publication.
Periodicals may be:
- Daily newspapers
- Weekly newspapers
- Journals
- Other periodical publications
The following sections offer a look at the various characteristics of the different types of periodicals to show what distinguishes each type.
Daily newspapers
They are published at least five times a week.
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They are distributed nationally or regionally.
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They are distributed in large numbers.
They offer reactions on the latest events.
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The topics they cover include public life, politics, sports, and tabloid journalism.
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They receive wide publicity.
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They are of interest to readers only on any given day, i.e., they have a short lifespan.
They are basic in terms of print quality.
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Instead of a title page, they have a header, which contains the most essential information about the publication.
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The colophon is usually placed at the end of the newspaper within a frame, with information about the editors, the publisher, and the printing house.
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Their layout has multiple columns to suit the large sheet size.
Weekly newspapers
They are published weekly or biweekly.
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They are distributed in large numbers.
They cover specific topics (economics, politics, culture, theatre, movies, women’s issues, men’s issues, etc.).
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They have a longer lifespan, i.e., more people reading them, more time spent on reading them.
High quality of the print design: colourful, lots of images.
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They contain extensive articles and in-depth analyses.
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Higher price range than daily newspapers.
Journals
They are published monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly.
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They are distributed in a relatively small number of copies.
They cover specific topics.
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They present specialist or scientific facts and findings.
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They have a long-term impact, i.e., their content does not become outdated or only does it slowly.
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Understanding their content requires careful study and in-depth reading.
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They are intended for a limited audience.
Annual tables of contents, name indexes, and subject indexes are also available for them.
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They are highly priced.
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They are often collected or archived in collections.
Other periodicals
They are published rarely and often at irregular intervals.
They are published by various bodies and institutions (e.g., museums, university departments).
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They may come in the form of yearbooks, almanacs, and scientific publications.
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They have a small audience, and they are distributed in a small number of copies.
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They are carefully studied and also archived.
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They are highly reliable sources of information.
They contain relatively few images.
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They contain long, virtually book-length studies.
Periodicals in the Library
Periodicals are very diverse in terms of their content. Some examples: social life, youth issues, hobbies, lifestyle, religion, culture, science, literature.
Of course, periodicals are not the only types of documents students read during their university studies, as students are often assigned long lists of specific literature to study to prepare for their exams. As a matter of fact, sometimes it may be difficult to make sense of all that bibliographic information. But if someone is capable of reading the signs, then they can easily determine whether the material assigned is to be found in a book, a volume of papers, or a periodical, for instance.
How to identify a journal article in a bibliography?
- If the title of a text that has been assigned for reading is relatively long or suggests a highly specific topic, then there is reason to believe that it is the title of an article in a journal.
“Solution-focused parenting in practice: a creative and playful Finnish method to overcome difficult situations and behavioral problems”
“Virtual theology and digital theologian? – Challenges and opportunities in terms of renewal for theological education in an information society”
2. Another tell-tale sign to look for is the inclusion of an additional title that follows the author’s name and the initial title, especially if the additional title appears in italics and / or is preceded by “In:” or by “=” (equal sign). It is this latter title that will provide a useful clue, as it indicates that title of the volume of papers or the journal in which the referenced article is found.
3. Regardless of whether an article appears in a volume of papers or a journal, the reference should contain page numbers.
4. If the article is an article in a journal, then there should also be an indication as to the specific issue of a specific volume of the journal in which the article appears.
Preston, J. L., & Baimel, A. (2021). Towards a psychology of religion and the environment. Current Opinion in Psychology, 40, 145–149. ScienceDirect. https://doi.org/10.1037/scp0000276
Beit-Hallahmi, B. Fast and slow: questions and observations in the Psychology of Religion. Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion. 2018; 6(1/2): 10–30. doi:10.1558/jcsr.42183
Kloetzer, L. & Clément, F. Never the Twain… Introduction to the Special Issue Psychology of Religion: Dialogues between Sociocultural and Cognitive Perspectives. Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science 53, 86–92 (2019).
How and where can periodicals be found in the Library?
The answer to the question “How?” is simple: by using the library’s online catalogue. The title of the periodical may either be entered in the general search bar on the library website, or, you can perform the search directly in the catalogue. In the catalogue, the search may even be narrowed down to periodicals by checking the Periodicals checkbox, which appears when the Advanced search option is selected. There is also a tutorial video about searching, which provides a detailed demonstration.
So, where can periodicals be found in the Library? The short answer is: everywhere. That means every floor, every reading room and even the closed stack rooms.
We will now take a closer look at all of these in turn.
Newspaper Reading Area
On the ground floor, the newspaper section in the information area contains mainly general and miscellaneous daily and weekly newspapers, but also magazines and comics for those who want to relax. The most recent issues are on the outside of the shelves, with additional issues underneath and older issues in storage.
Each serial publication has its own call number, which can be found in the top right-hand corner of each issue: a combination of two letters (ÁF) and a number (1-213).
Reading rooms
Similarly to books located in the reading rooms on each floor above the ground floor, periodicals in these reading rooms are arranged by subject. This means that specialist journals related to major disciplines are on the same floor as books on the same discipline.
- 1st floor: General Works, Social Sciences, Humanities – 0/2 FI, 3 FI, 7 FI
- 2nd floor: History, Sociology, Political Science – 93/99 FI
- 3rd floor: Language and Literature – 80 FI, 82/89 FI
- 4th floor: Sciences – 5 FI
Important note
Daily and weekly newspapers, journals cannot be borrowed from the library, they can only be used locally.
Storages
Important note
Any journal issues in the storages can be accessed via a document request in the same way books can be requested for on-site use, but only if there are no online versions available.
Daily and weekly newspapers cannot be requested in this way. If you need such a newspaper, please contact the librarian.
Periodicals can also be found on the virtual shelves of the library, with a great deal of specialized literature. They can be found on the Library’s website. Subscription-based electronic resources can be accessed on the library and university network, or even from home through remote access via the library’s proxy service.