The Standard Periodical Directory

You may already know that the Magazines and Newspapers Center holds thousands of magazines and newspapers from the past to the present, along with microfilm, San Francisco City Directories, and telephone books from around the country. But did you know that the Center also has many reference resources to help answer a variety of questions that you may have?

In addition to the skilled library technicians and librarians that staff the Center's reference desk, you should be aware of the many print resources available to you.

One particular useful tool is the The Standard Periodical Directory, a directory of magazines by subject.


The 30th edition holds information for over 58,000 magazines with over 5,500 additions from the last edition. Over 17,000 magazines are noted as a combination of print and online media. Also of note is that corporate in-house magazines have dwindled from 79 pages to 5 while ethnic magazines have grown astronomically. Hispanic magazines have grown from 30 to 245 since 1977. Indicative of the size and motion within the magazine industry, the Directory contains valuable information for each listed periodical that includes websites, email addresses, subscription list rental availability, and other basic information.

This is one example of over 100 reference sources that are held at the Center's main reference desk. If you have a question, the Center may have your answer.