What is CARDEX?
While the CARD CATALOG is the primary index to the
Library collection, the CARDEX is the index to the
periodicals that a library subscribes to. The CARDEX
lists the titles of periodicals in alphabetical order,
and indicates the issues available in the library. The
CARDEX is usually located in the Periodical Room.
Periodical Room:
It is a section in the Library and located in
the Ground Floor. It collects all the periodical and
serial issues of magazines and news papers. Inside you
can find the Reader’s Guide and the Cardex.
News Paper
Recent: It is located in the Periodical Room.
It collects a different Arabic and English News Paper.
Back Issue: It is located as a packed patch in the
Basement or found on a microfiche reader in Turathuna
Center.
Magazines:
Recent: It is located in the Periodical Room.
It collects mainly Arabic, English, and other languages.
It covers many subjects such as Science, Nursing, and
Business …etc.
Back Issue: It is located in Red Boxes in the
Periodical Room for the recent year and for back years
it is located in the Second Floor.
Reader’s Guide:
One
of the most commonly used periodical indexes is the
Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature, usually known
as the Reader’s Guide.
The
Reader’s Guide is an index to the contents of more than
200 English language periodicals of general interest.
For
every periodical subscription there is a card with all
the information pertaining to that periodical as in the
following example:
Periodical
List
A list of all the periodical available in the Library is
found on the top of CARDEX. The list is arranged
alphabetically by the title of periodical.
There are
several copies of the list in folders to facilitate
several users.
The list also
indicates which periodicals are bound. It is advisable
to check the list instead of the CARDEX for a specific
periodical.
Periodicals
Definition
A periodical is a “a publication with a distinctive
title which appears at stated or regular intervals,
generally oftener than once a year, without prior
decision as to when the last issue shall appear. It
contains articles, stories or other writings, by several
contributors.” (The librarians’ Glossary & Reference
Book. London: Andre Deutsch Ltd., 1977. p.633).
Importance
A
periodical is an excellent source of information for a
reader. Since a periodical comes out at relatively short
intervals of time, it keeps up with the latest news and
information on a subject. This gives a periodical
priority over a book in terms of the up- to- date
information it contains.
Frequency
Periodicals differ from one another in terms of how many
times they appear during a certain period of time.
-A
weekly periodical comes out once a week.
-A bi-weekly (or semi-monthly) comes out every
two weeks.
-A monthly comes out once a month.
-A bi-monthly comes out every two months.
-A quarterly comes once every quarter of a year.
-A semi –annual comes out twice a year.
-A yearly or annual comes out once a year.
Issues &
Volumes
Each
appearance of a periodical is called an issue, and every
issue is dated and given a consecutive number. A current
issue is the latest appearance of a periodical. All
issues that precede the current issue are called back
issues, and are usually kept in special boxes.
A group of
issues for a particular periodical would make up a
volume, which is also given a consecutive number.
By the end of
a year, a monthly periodical would have a volume of 12
issues for that year. When a volume is completed, a
library usually binds it in one set and places it on the
open shelves for easy access.
Type & Scope
Periodicals fall into 2 categories in terms of their
subject matter:
1)
General
such as
Time
& Newsweek
Which are of
general interest and cover a variety of news and
information
2)
Specialized
such as:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Tourism Management
Third World Quarterly
Periodical
Indexes
There are thousands of general and specialized
periodicals that are published throughout the world.
Periodicals are considered to be one of the best sources
of up-to-date information on a given topic. Hence, they
constitute good references for research and term papers.
Periodical indexes are also published to facilitate easy
finding of articles.
A periodical
index is a list of the articles that appear in a
periodical or a group of periodicals, indicating author
of the article, name of periodical, date and other
information..
An index is
usually arranged in alphabetical by subject and
author,
One of the
most commonly used periodical indexes is the Readers’
Guide to Periodical Literature, usually known as the
Readers’ Guide.
The Readers’
Guide is an index to the contents of more than 200
English Language periodicals of general interest.
The main body
of the Index consists of subject and author entries to
periodical articles arranged in one alphabetical
listing.
In addition,
there is a listing of citations to book reviews
following the main body of the index.
A sample
entry from the Readers’ Guide is found on p. 7.
In the sample
entry, abbreviations are often used: this is done to
save apace. A list of these abbreviations is found in
the front pages of the Guide, e.g. tr=translator, Je.=
June.
The complete
titles of periodicals are also listed in alphabetical
order in the front pages of the Guide, so you can tell
which periodicals are indexed. When an article is found
in the Readers’ Guide, the next step is to check the
Cardex to see if the library has a subscription to the
periodical in which the article was cited, and if that
specific issue is available.
If the issue
is a current one, it should be found on the periodical
rack. If it is a back issue, it should be requested from
the periodical or circulation librarian. If the issue is
part of a volume that is already bound, it should be
found with the bound periodicals on the second floor.
The Readers’
Guide, as mentioned earlier, indexes articles of
periodicals of general interest.
There are
also indexes for periodicals of specialized interest.
The following are few examples:
-Current
Index to Journals in Education
-Nursing and Allied Health Index
-Social Sciences Index
-The last issue of each volume as in Science News.
-
A
periodical does not circulate, whether it is a current
issue, a back issue, or in a bound volume.
-
The
Audio-Visual Center has a video film called “How to use
the Readers’ Guide”. You are strongly encouraged to
watch it.
