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What is a Periodical?

A periodical refers to material that is published at regular intervals. The word periodical is a generic term that is applied by librarians to publications that are issued in a periodic manner. Specific examples of periodicals include general interest magazines, scholarly journals, industry and trade magazines, newsletters, newspapers and zines.

General interest magazines

The term "magazine" is usually applied to periodicals that are of a general, or non-specialist nature. Examples of general interest magazines include: Time, Newsweek, Car and Driver, Vogue, etc. However, magazines such as Natural History cause confusion. Although this magazine deals with topics in considerable depth, it is considered a magazine rather than a scholarly journal because it is written for the lay reader and does not publish original research. The articles in Natural History summarize original research. Helpful tips for determining whether a periodical is a general interest magazine include:

• The articles are written with the general public in mind
• The periodical has a journalistic writing style
• The articles are edited or reviewed by one or more persons employed by the magazine
• The author of the article is a journalist, a layperson, or is not listed at all
• There are few or no references or notes
• The periodical is published on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis
• The periodical has a glossy appearance, many photographs, or has many advertisements
• The periodical is indexed in a general magazine index such as the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature

Scholarly journal

Scholarly journals are periodicals written primarily for other scholars, researchers and graduate students in specific fields of study. Scholarly journals contain the results of original science and social science research, and the writings, criticism and reviews of scholars in the humanities. Helpful tips for determining whether a periodical is a scholarly journal include:

• The articles are written primarily with other scholars in mind
• The articles have an academic or technical writing style
• The articles are edited or reviewed by other scholars in the field before they are accepted for publication
• The author is an expert in her or his field of study
• There are many notes and a lengthy bibliography
• The periodical has a more sedate look, and there are few if any advertisements--if there are advertisements they are usually for things of scholarly interest
• The periodical is indexed in a subject specific index such as the Humanities Index, or the Social Sciences Index

Industry and trade magazines

These are magazines that present information about a specific industry or trade. Advertising Age and ComputerWorld are examples of trade magazines.

Newsletters

Newsletters are produced by a variety groups and are often used to inform readers about the activities of the group.

Newspapers

Newspapers come in many forms. Many newspapers are published daily, others are published weekly or monthly. Some newspapers, like the New York Times and the Christian Science Monitor, are considered national in scope; others like the Star Tribune are considered regional newspapers. Many smaller cities and towns have their own local newspaper, as do neighborhoods within larger cities; the Highland Villager in Saint Paul is an example of a neighborhood newspaper. There are also newspapers that focus on specific topics, such as Minneapolis Spokesman which covers the Minneapolis African American community, and Indian Country Today which covers the Native American news. The Village Voice and City Pages are examples of alternative general newspapers that present ideas and cultural issues from a non-mainstream position.

Zines

Zines are self-published periodicals. Most zines focus on a specific topic and are not available in any of the normal places where you find magazines--like libraries and bookstores. Zines are most often printed and distributed in a network of like-minded individuals by the person who created the zine. Although zines are difficult to locate, a few zine review resources exist. The Reader's Guide to the Underground Press, and Broken Pencil are two such resources.

As we said above, most libraries do not collect zines. However, the MCTC Library is committed to collecting material from alternative sources, therefore we have developed the only library zine collection in the state of Minnesota. Our zines are located in the library reference area. The zines are available for use in the library and can be photocopied. You can search for our zines by author/editor, title, and subject heading. To access the zine index go to the library's Alternative Materials page and choose the MCTC Zine Index button. If you would like to get your own zines go to the Arise! Bookstore and Resource Center located at 2441 Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis.