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    What is a serial publication_

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    31 views5 pages

    What Is A Serial Publication

    Uploaded by

    Sofía Tapias González

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    What Is A Serial Publication? “ Wen 1 use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it meansjust what I choose it to mean—neither more or less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master— that’s all.” ‘Alice was too much puzzled to say anything; so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. “They've a temper, some of them— particularly verbs: they're the proudest—adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs— however, / can manage the whole lot of | them! —Impenetrability! That's what I say!” “Would you tell me, please,” said Alice, “what that means?” “Now you talk like a reasonable child,” said Humpty Dumpty, looking very much pleased. “I mean by ‘impenetrability’ that we've had enough of that subject, and it would be just as well if you'd ‘mention what you mean todo next, as I suppose you don't mean to stop here all the rest of your life.” “That's a great deal to make one word mean,” Alice said in a thoughtful tone. “When I make a word do a lot of work like that,” said Humpty Dumpty, “I always pay it extra.” “Oh!” said Alice. She was too much puzzled to make any other remark. by Doris M. Carson Analysis of representative existing definitions of serial publications reveals a singular lack of clarity. The librarian's definition must consider the nature of the material and express that in clear. logic Lt The beginning of wisdom lies in calling things by their right names, that is, by names which we agree upon. According to library glossaries, li- brarians have apparently agreed that series, serials, and sets may all be called serial publications. The fact is that the definitions themselves do not clarify and enlighten but rather reinforce our foggy thinking. Also, the terms them- selves seem to be used interchangeably with changeable meanings. Osborn recognized our lack of ex- clusive definitions when he wrote: “A sound definition of a serial and, for that matter, of a newspaper or periodical, hhas long been sought, especially in the book trade, legal and library circles, as, well as by bibliographers and literary historians.” Escreet identifies the same problem: “Rule 6 (Serials) is one of those on which there was sufficient disagreement between the American and British committees to compel the two sides to agree to differ.... I know of no satisfactory definition of the term ‘serial’ (or of its component ‘periodical’) that will tell you what it means unless you already have a fairly good idea.”* Doris M. Carson is Cataloger for Wichita State University Library, Wich- ita, Kansas. __ Among many definitions, the follow- ing are representative. fenials. include periodicals, news papers, annuals (reports, yearbooks, etc.), the journals, memoirs, proceedings, trans- actions, ete. of societies, and numbered /monographic series. Anglo-American Cataloging Rules.*Glossary"* ‘newspapers, annuals, numbered mono- ‘graphic series and the proceedings, trans- actions and memoirs of societ ‘intended to be continued indefinitely, not necessarily at regular intervals. (Inthe United States of America the term ‘serial”is used to mean a periodical, regular or irregular). LM, Harrod, Fellow of the Library Assoc ation, The Librarians’ Glossary 1, A publication issued in successive parts, usually at regular intervals, and, as a ALA Glossary of Library Terms. 1943 edition ‘The Journal of Academic Librarianship, vol. 3, no. 4, p. 206-209 ©1977 by the Journal of Academic Librarianship. All rights reserved. SERIES 1A number of separate. works issued in secession and related to one another by the fact that each bears. a collective title ‘generally appearing at the head of the title ABH) 0 on the half ile, or on the cover, ormally issued by the same publisher in & uniform style, frequently in a numerical sequence. Often termed “monographic se ries” “Monograph series” 03 GASSES rately numbered sequence of volumes within SseriesOrserial, c.g. Notes and queries, Ist Serie APWERR, ct. Anglo-American Cataloging Rules."Glossary”” |, Volumes usually related to each other in subject. matter,. issued. successively, some- times at the same price, and generally by the same publisher, ina uniform style, #1 ‘usually bearing a collective seriestitle’ he HALF TITLE (q.v.) or on the cover, 21 the eat Ot thet EAGE (tthe Suecessive volumes of a serial publication humbered separately to distinguish. them from other sequences of the same serial. $°: ‘also SERTAT. Harrod. The Librarians’ Glossary! 1. A number of separate works, usually related tooneanotherinsubjector otherwise, issued in succession, normally by the same publisher and in uniforsa. chyle Qitha Collective title which generally appears atthe head of the title page, or onthe halftitle, or on Miseoversy . 3. Several successive volumes ‘Of a periodical or other serial publication ‘numbered separately in order to distinguis them from preceding orfollowing volumesof_ the same publication, ¢.g., Notesand queries, Ist series, 2A series, etc. ALA Glossary of Library Terms, 1943 edition? SET No definition given for “SET.” Anglo-American Cataloging Rules. Glossary” 1. A series of publications associated by common publication or authorship, and ‘which form one unit, being issued in a uniform style. They may be by one author, or on one subject, or they may be a file of periodicals or be unrelated but printed and bound uniformly. Harrod, The Librarians’ Glossary! Wperics associated by acommon authorship PF publication. Specifically, a collection of books forming a unit, as the works of one fruthor issued in uniform style, a file of periodicals, related works on a particular hubject, or unrelated books printegayniform- }y and intended to be sold asa grofipias, a sei /of Dickens; a ser of works on soctoYogy. ;BY permission: from Webster's New Interna- tional Dictionary, Second Edition, copy- right 1934, 1939, by G. & C. Merriam Co, ALA Glossary of Library Terms. 1943 edition." The problem appears to be poverty of the languagessthe slack sof-adequate Lerminology, ile telditional definitions! fuse terms inipreciselyy The same terms fare used again and again, with other meanings for other kinds’ of publica- tions in definitions number 2, 3, etc., some of which are omitted from the definitions quoted because they are not applicable here. When there are several aspects to a term's usage, this paper intends to deal primarily with the first definition given for each term. But within the first aspect of a term’s definition, the same terms are repeated from definition to definition. We use the same word serial as an adjective in serial publications, and as a noun, a serial, one of the kinds of serial publications. It seems we need another word, either for the noun or for the adjective. The plural serials is also used with two meanings. We say serials, the plural, implying adjectival status, meaning the various kinds of serial publications; or we say serials, the plural, meaning more than one serial, the noun, one of the kinds of serial publications. Confusing! Thus we could say “serials are one of the kinds of serials,” which sounds like nonsense. ‘The. definitions,.as_we read_them, characterize serials, series, and set from four aspects: (1) number of works (that is, products of thought and imagina- tion); (2) intervals of publication; (3) duration of publication; and (4) pub- Tisher and style of publication. TUSERIND 4 ork issued in successive Paths GERIES! Separate works issued in suc- SET work issued in partsin succession or simultaneously to form a unit, or Separate works issued in succession or simultaneously to form a unit, BUSERIADD stated intervals of publication, the parts being designated chronologically and often numerically. SERIES) No stated intervals of publica- tions the volumes, being related to one another through a collective series title (or ‘authoy/ title), may or may not be numbered. GET) No stated intervals of publication should ‘the parts of the unit be issued in succession SUSERAD trrended to continue indefi- Titel SERIES) No stated duration of publica~ tiog. gp number of volumes to be published. SED Apparently a planned number of the Jourmal of Academic Librarianship, September 1977 parts or volumes to be published since their collection is to form a unit. GESERAD Common publisher; more or Tess-unifogm style of publication. SERIES) Common publisher; probably cunifggp style of publication. SEX Common publisher; in some cases, common authorship: uniform style of pub lication. According to the definitions, the first noticeable difference among the three is that a serial is one work composed of parts, that a series is composed of separate works, «nd hata set may be either one multivolume work or a collection of separate works planned as a unit. The intervals of publication of the serial are stated and are more or less regular. There are no stated intervals of publication of the volumes belonging to ‘a series or a_sct. The chronological designations, which are given to the Parts ofr

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