Periodicals

Well, readers, I want to talk to you today about something Jen and I have been talking about for a while: periodicals. You thought I was going to say our frequent, and highly impressive dance-offs, didn't you? Sorry to disappoint you, but Jen and I have been talking about adding some subscriptions to our periodical lineup.

Before I get started let me simply tell you what it is I mean by "periodical." I mean a publication that is published at a regular interval, and with different content. Newspapers, journals, and magazines come to mind. So, I suppose we librarians use the term as a catch-all. Well, to sate my need to share a bit of librarianship with you, let me share with you this brief snippet about periodicals:

2.2.1. Periodicals

AACR2 does not define "periodicals ;" however, catalogers generally follow the definition used under earlier rules:

A serial appearing or intended to appear indefinitely at regular or stated intervals, generally more frequently than annually, each issue of which normally contains separate articles, stories, or other writings. (1)

This definition best describes "magazines," perhaps the most commonly known type of periodical because they are published for the general public. While not all periodicals are true magazines, most of them at least look like magazines, having a similar format consisting of a cover followed by editorial or contents pages, and lacking a title page.

Making the distinction between a periodical and any other type of serial is not critical to the cataloging since the same rules are applied to catalog all types of serials.(2) Perhaps the most important distinction between periodicals and other serials is not in the way they are cataloged but in the way they are housed. Many libraries house current issues of periodicals separately from the rest of the serial collection until the issues are bound or microfilmed.

http://www.itsmarc.com/crs/manl1943.htm

So, without further ado, let me get to the point of this post (it took me long enough!) Jen and I currently receive these periodicals at our home:

The New Yorker
Dwell
Roundel
Good Magazine
American Libraries
ACRL News

Of course, we rarely read any of these periodicals cover to cover, and. They come with varying frequency, that is that while The New Yorker is a weekly magazine, Good is quarterly. This means we usually have one periodical each to read, and one is generally being passed between us. We feel as if there is room for one or two more periodicals in our reading habits, and so we are trying a few out. Last night, Jen and I went to Barnes and Noble and sampled many periodicals in hopes of finding out what we did, and did not, like. Here's a brief recap:

Harper's
The Atlantic
The New Republic - all three of these magazines just seemed to be too much in the style of The New Yorker, a publication we love and feel shouldn't be duplicated in our subscriptions.
Deadalus - Jen liked this one, but I didn't care much for it, as it dealt mostly with media/journalism issues.
Foreign Affairs - a subscription to Foreign Affairs is a big commitment, one we are hesitant to undertake. But we might subscribe as we both enjoy the content, and it is different from our other subscriptions.
The New Criterion - I actually bought the June issue of this to give it a try. I've seen it at the Carter, and thought I should at least browse an issue. Well, there is an article about the Morgan in this issue, so I couldn't resist.
Scientific American - this has been suggested to Jen on several occasions, and she bought the most recent issue to see if she likes it.

However, we haven't committed to anything as yet. I want to ask your opinion, reader, what would you recommend, based on your knowledge of our reading interests?