The Southeastern Geographer: A Regional Journal?

Southeastern Geographer Vol. XXXlX, No. 2, November 1999. pp. 246-248 THE SOUTHEASTERN GEOGRAPHER: A REGIONAL JOURNAL?1 Jodie Traylor Guy As of August 1999, the Southeastern Geographer boasts of 258 institutional subscribers. The large majority are public and private colleges and universities, with public outnumbering private roughly five to one. Other institutional subscribers include public libraries, public and private organizations, and commercial concerns. Although the journal traditionally has been considered a regional publication, the spatial distribution of its institutional subscribers indicates otherwise (Fig. 1). They are located in most of the U.S. states and in the District of Columbia (only four of the 48 contiguous states having not a single institutional subscriber to the journal), in five Canadian provinces, and in nine countries outside the Western Hemisphere, from the United Kingdom to Japan. Not even a majority, but ratherjust over one-third (96), of the institutional subscribers is located in the area that constitutes the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers (SEDAAG). The South as defined by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, extending beyond SEDAAG's 10-state area, is however home to over half (57%) of the journal's U.S. institutional subscribers (Table 1), with SEDAAG states accounting for 77% of these. The North Central census region has the next largest share (20%), followed by the Northeast (13%) and the West (10%). (These U.S. subscribers constitute 85% of the total number of institutional subscribers, with Canada and overseas locations accounting for the remainder with 6% and 9% respectively.) The average number of institutional subscribers per SEDAAG state is between nine and 10, with North Carolina having the most (18) and West Virginia the least (three). Somewhat surprising is the fact that Georgia, about average with nine subscribers , is matched by the non-SEDAAG state of Ohio and the Canadian province of Ontario and is even exceeded by non-SEDAAG New York (10 subscribers). Additionally, non-SEDAAG states Illinois and California (eight subscribers each) are home to more institutional subscribers than either West Virginia, Mississippi, or Kentucky. Former Southeastern Geographer Editor J. Dennis Lord (quoted in Wheeler, 1998, p. 161) has stated, "I suspect that . . . the Southeastern Geographer [is] becoming less 'Southeast'." At least as far as institutional subscribers are concerned , Lord's suspicion seems to be confirmed. The Southeastern Geographer, as measured by the spatial distribution of institutional subscribers and their readership, Ms. Guy is Assistant Editor, Southeastern Geographer, Department ofGeography , University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2502. Internet: jodieguy@ uga. edu. VOL. XXXIX, No. 2 247 Fig. 1. Spatial distribution of institutional subscribers to the Southeastern Geographer, 1999. Source: 248Southeastern Geographer TABLE 1 LOCATION OF U.S. INSTITUTIONAL SUBSCRIBERS TO THE SOUTHEASTERN GEOGRAPHER, BY CENSUS REGION, 1999 U.S. region Number of U.S Pecentage oftotal number of institutional subscribers U.S. institutional subscribers South124 57 SEDAAG states9644 Northeast28 1 3 North Central45 20 West22 1 0 Total219 100 Source: Compiled by author. has become more than "one of the profession's most respected regional journals" (James and Martin, 1978, p. 174). NOTE 'The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of James O. Wheeler, Editor, Southeastern Geographer, and Mike Feeney, Campus Graphics and Photography, University of Georgia. LITERATURE CITED James, P. E. and Martin, G. J. 1978. The First Seventy-Five Years, 1904-1979 (Washington, DC: Association ofAmerican Geographers). Wheeler, J. O. 1998. "On the History of Publications of the Southeastern Division, Association of American Geographers," Southeastern Geographer, Vol. 38, pp. 150-166. ...