When MENC switched over to a new publishing partner, SAGE Publications, it also moved to a new system for handling the quarterly publication the Journal of Research in Music Education (JRME).

Instead of calling the four issues Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, they will be named for the months in which they’re going to appear, namely April (for Spring), July (for Summer), October (for Fall), and January (for Winter). During the transition, some issue may have both names when you search for them online, but you can start now using the new system now, as the new Spring JRME issue is “April 2008” online.

Why the change? SAGE publishes all over the world, and spring in North America doesn’t happen at the same time as in Australia or Madagascar. The desire to avoid being “hemisphere-centric” has motivated SAGE to use months rather than seasons, and they do this with many of their almost 500 journals.

If you have questions, you can contact SAGE at Journals@sagepub.com, or you can call SAGE’s Customer Service Department toll-free at 800-818-7243.

--Ella Wilcox, September 17, 2008, © MENC: The National Association for Music Education (www.menc.org)