What is a periodical?
Periodicals are any type of publication that is published in a series. They usually relate to specific topics, and tend to cover such topics more quickly and concisely than a book. Types of periodicals include magazines, journals, newsletters, and even some newspapers.
Periodicals are often one of the best sources of information if you are looking for recent and historical information about a specific topic, or information on local issues.
They are often issued monthly, or may only be published a few times a year. Each periodical issue is numbered and all those issued for that year are a part of a volume, which is also given a number. If a particular article has been indexed you may see the issue number and volume. This helps locate the article within that volume for a given year.
What kind of information do periodicals provide?
Magazines and periodicals often contain articles about very specific topics, which may not appear in books. For example, the Journal of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society would contain more in-depth coverage of contemporary agricultural topics than a book which contains a more general overview of agriculture.
A wide range of historical events, notable local stories and local people may feature in local history magazines and periodicals, such as the East Riding Local History Society Journal. This compares with general histories which may just offer overviews of the main themes or subjects.
We have indexed a number of our magazines and periodicals over the years. You can search for topics, subjects or individuals using the information index in the library area, which will provide the magazine or periodical in which the article(s) feature.
Hull History Centre holdings
The History Centre holds a number of magazines and periodicals. These cover a range of topics relating to the local area, including:
- business
- local companies, such as Reckitt’s and British Cod Liver Oil
- societies, including historical and antiquarian
- the Port of Hull
- geology
- farming and agricultural newsletters and yearbooks.
You can discover many of our periodicals using the online catalogue.