Harrison's Calendar Cookbook is considered to be part of the ephemera genre. Ephemera is defined as something that exists for short-term use and temporary enjoyment. This is common among calendar cookbooks because they offered monthly calendars for a designated year and recipes were provided to go along with them. Their primary goal was advertising, so each year they had the opportunity to offer a new assortment of advertisements, if desired. After purchasing or receiving a calendar cookbook, the reader likely kept and used it for that year, and then disposed of it when the year was through.