I love serials. Really. They provide a constant supply of surprises. Not only did I learn that a bunch of the (once) consistent and predictable journals are now choosing to go to X number of odd regulars, but there was yet another title merger. There used to be 2 editions of an education journal, but they merged into one. They then dropped the subtitles they used to have that showed which section each belonged to. However, they kept the issn one of the old titles. One would think, that being educators, would motivate them to keep things as accurate and logical as possible.
Then there is the ever present Fibonacci Quarterly that now spans volumes, months, years and numbers all in one mighty leap! I just checked in v. 46/47 Mar/Apr 2008/2009 no. 2....and may I remind the editors of that journal that the ILS systems cannot put those sorts of combinations together? It makes a mess and throws the entire issue into a note instead of a MARC holdings format that is collapsible.
Showing posts with label title changes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label title changes. Show all posts
9.15.2009
6.23.2009
Newsflash...
If you work in serials, please sit down. You will not believe what I am about to relate!
I have worked in the quirky realm of serials with all of its oddities for just over nine years now. I have never come across a journal that changed its title AND a) warned its subscribers in advance b) warned them again when the first issue of the new title was sent and c) provided the new ISSN as well as d) information about the publication frequency and e) advised the subscribers about the changed appearance (size) too.
Normally, I try not to name journals by title, since I do not want to incur the wrath of the publishers...but since this is a miracle and the publisher shows not only forethought, but consideration of its subscribers...I will name the journal. The old title was Australian Meteorological Magazine and the new title is Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Journal.
There is yet another strange twist to this. Apparently this journal is published by a *gasp* government department! Not only did the journal pre-plan its title change, but it was done in an efficient and timely manner by a government department....!
Sorry, just fell off my chair in disbelief as the realization of that last bit hit me.... The terms "efficient, timely, organized and journal" do not usually fall in the same sentence. Even much less likely is the linking of the phrase "published by a government department" to occur in the same sentence as well.
I do think that if a foreign government department can do this (warn subscribers of a title/size change AND publication frequency) in a mere insert that the other journal publishers should aspire to do so as well...! But alas, we all must have dreams...!
I have worked in the quirky realm of serials with all of its oddities for just over nine years now. I have never come across a journal that changed its title AND a) warned its subscribers in advance b) warned them again when the first issue of the new title was sent and c) provided the new ISSN as well as d) information about the publication frequency and e) advised the subscribers about the changed appearance (size) too.
Normally, I try not to name journals by title, since I do not want to incur the wrath of the publishers...but since this is a miracle and the publisher shows not only forethought, but consideration of its subscribers...I will name the journal. The old title was Australian Meteorological Magazine and the new title is Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Journal.
There is yet another strange twist to this. Apparently this journal is published by a *gasp* government department! Not only did the journal pre-plan its title change, but it was done in an efficient and timely manner by a government department....!
Sorry, just fell off my chair in disbelief as the realization of that last bit hit me.... The terms "efficient, timely, organized and journal" do not usually fall in the same sentence. Even much less likely is the linking of the phrase "published by a government department" to occur in the same sentence as well.
I do think that if a foreign government department can do this (warn subscribers of a title/size change AND publication frequency) in a mere insert that the other journal publishers should aspire to do so as well...! But alas, we all must have dreams...!
10.24.2008
Magazine makeovers and new editors
Anytime I get a letter from a publication that says something about a new editor or a new direction, I cringe. I cringe because I know what will be next -- a makeover, a name change, a format change, a new publisher, a size change and occassionally spin off titles with new issns.
It seems to be the season for makeovers. A couple of our journals have converted to online-only this year. A couple of our journals have changed sizes in the MIDDLE of the volume, which is a problem for binding purposes. An entire collection of our journals was purchased from one publisher to another and is changing where they are going to be available online. And then there is the publisher that has issued an oversized magazine since it was created and just this week decided to change sizes, its layout and went from staples to perfect binding...
I just wonder, at times like this, if the publishers have ever heard the phrase "if it ain't broken, don't fix it?"
It seems to be the season for makeovers. A couple of our journals have converted to online-only this year. A couple of our journals have changed sizes in the MIDDLE of the volume, which is a problem for binding purposes. An entire collection of our journals was purchased from one publisher to another and is changing where they are going to be available online. And then there is the publisher that has issued an oversized magazine since it was created and just this week decided to change sizes, its layout and went from staples to perfect binding...
I just wonder, at times like this, if the publishers have ever heard the phrase "if it ain't broken, don't fix it?"
Title changes...that aren't quite...!
This week the library received a journal that looked like it had suffered a title change. However, after perusing the journal and finding the editor's comments, plus the subscription information....it became another case of a title change that wasn't.
It seems that the editors of this fine magazine decided it needed a makeover, so they made the pages glossier, changed to a perfect binding (instead of staples) and merely changed the layout and masthead -- but NOT the name. The ISSN stayed the same and the real title (that had not changed one whit) was buried in the publication and subscription information...
Now editors are big on makeovers of the magazines, but this is the second journal to do this in the last 3 or 4 months, so I am beginning to sense a pattern here....
It seems that the editors of this fine magazine decided it needed a makeover, so they made the pages glossier, changed to a perfect binding (instead of staples) and merely changed the layout and masthead -- but NOT the name. The ISSN stayed the same and the real title (that had not changed one whit) was buried in the publication and subscription information...
Now editors are big on makeovers of the magazines, but this is the second journal to do this in the last 3 or 4 months, so I am beginning to sense a pattern here....
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