I'm not sure where everybody's been, but I've noticed in most of my own
personal periodical subscriptions that the subscription is for X number of
*issues*, and the calendar period is more or less a guideline.  I just
talked with our Serials Acquisitions supervisor, and she confirmed that
that is more or less the norm with most frequency increases for the titles
we subscribe to (and especially for science journals).  So I wouldn't worry
about it *becoming* a trend, since it seems to already be one!

Kevin M. Randall
Head, Serials Cataloging Section
Northwestern University Library