we have quarterly and monthly magazines and papers, but what about a magazine which it won’t come out on a specific period of time, and depending on when its contents are enough for a full volume, they issue it. for instance first issue was on 12 March, next issue was 16 May, and the next one may come out 16 Aug.?
“Irregular” would seem to be a common term. At first I thought it was just “continuations” but I see that annuals are included in that umbrella.
Thanks for the reply.
And, the word “Irregular” is printed on the magazine? for instance, you read on the cover " Interior Decoration Irregular" ?
I would have hoped that “aperiodical” could have got in there, but I doubt the confusion that would cause would let it get far. One notes that “irregular publication frequency” is possibly an oxymoron.
[\end pedant mode]
Fanzine.
That seems to be their modus operandi, anyway.
The term in library land for that publication pattern is “irregular.”
As a type of publication it’s a serial. “Periodical” generally (though not always) implies regularity in publication pattern. You will still often see the term “periodical” applied due to the nature of the contents or frequency of publication. All periodicals are serials, but not all serials are periodicals.
So, to recap: serial is the TYPE of publication. You’ll sometimes find these further classed as Periodicals.
Irregular vs regular refers to the REGULARITY of publication. If you can predict when it will be published, you use Regular, if you can’t you code it as Unknown, Normalized irregular, or Completely irregular.
FREQUENCY is annual, quarterly, daily, triennial or good ol’ “No determinable frequency”