Problems in Selection:

Periodicals are more important than books for researchers and specialists. They contain more recent information in the form of research papers, news, reports and reviews which the re-searchers need. As research activities are world-wide and are increasing day by day more and more periodicals are being published from all over the world with a view to disseminating the growing research information. There may be around 100,000 periodical publications in the world. Not all these are alike in their standard and purpose. There are among  them popular magazines and learned periodicals. Also there are primary journals and secondary journals like indexing, abstracting and reviewing periodicals. Selection of the most useful ones be-comes extremely difficult. The cost of periodicals is also a threatening factor. The cost esca-lation in periodicals is of a higher rate than in books. If the budget remains constant, continuous subscription to the selected  periodicals becomes difficult, sometimes impossible. Once a periodical is selected, it has to be acquired for years. If not, the library will have only broken files of periodicals and that will not serve the purpose of research. Therefore, selection of a periodical normally leads to a recurring financial commitment spread over, the subsequent years. Selection of periodicals have to be therefore, very careful, deliberate and for long periods. 

Problems in the selection and ordering of periodicals arise from the vagaries of the periodicals themselves. Periodicals are normally expected to be published under specific titles by certain publishers or sponsors with a prescribed periodicity and a numbering system leading to completion of volumes. But many periodicals do not conform to these essentials. There can be  irregularity in publication like the non-publication of certain issues of a volume in certain periods. Some die out and some get resurrected. There can be a change in the title in the sponsor or on the periodicity, or in one or more of the these. Two or more periodicals can be amalgamated to form a new one under a new title, also one or more periodicals can merged into another retaining the latter's title and sequence. Similarly, there can be splitting up of existing periodicals into two or more with their own titles. These vagaries can pose serious difficulties in acquisition work.