- How to find an article if you know the title of the periodical and the date the article was published
- How to find an article on a specific subject
- How to find an article on an interdisciplinary subject
How to find an article if you know the title of the periodical and the date the article was published
If you've determined the title of the periodical and the date of the article that you're looking for, your next step is to use the Browse journal, magazine and newspaper holdings feature on the Articles page.
You can use the "Browse" feature to find out what Oesterle Library's holdings are for any specific periodical for any specific date. If you enter a journal title into the "Browse" feature, you'll be able to definitively determine whether or not Oesterle Library has the specific article you're looking for, in any format (online, print, or microform).
Here's an example of what a Browse journal, magazine and newspaper holdings search looks like:
And here's what the search results look like:
The search results will tell you three things: first, does Oesterle library have this periodical in any format? In the case of The New York Times, the answer is yes.
Second, the results will tell you what format or formats the periodical is in, and which databases (if any) you'll find it. In the record above, you can see that Oesterle Library holds The New York Times in several different databases, including ProQuest Historical Newspapers and LexisNexis. By indicating the sources of "Freely Accessible Journals," the record is also telling you that the newspaper is available online for free. And when you see "Oesterle Library's Print Journals," you also know that the library holds physical copies of the periodical--in print, microfilm, and/or microfiche.
Finally, the results tell you what date range Oesterle Library holds for that periodical. In the example above, you can see that Oesterle Library has The New York Times through the ProQuest Historical Newspapers database from 1854 to 2004. If the article you're looking for falls within that date range, you're in luck: the library has it.
If you've found a match for what you're looking for in one of the library's databases, go ahead and follow the appropriate hyperlink from the search results page. For example: if you wanted to look at an article published in 1865, you'd probably want to click on the link to Proquest Historical Newspapers. When you follow that link, you'll find yourself in that database's search interface. Go ahead and enter the title of the article into the database's search box--you'll still have to run a search in order to find it, but now you already know that the article is available in that database.
If you discover that Oesterle Library doesn't have the article or journal that you're looking for, don't despair: we can still get it for you via interlibrary loan. For more information on how to request an article via interlibrary loan, please see our Getting Articles from Other Libraries page.
How to find an article on a specific subject
If you're looking for articles on a specific subject, the best way to find them is to go to the Find Articles page and then choose the subject you're looking for from the pull-down menu under "Choose a Subject." The page looks like this:
In this menu, you'll find subjects matched to every major and program at North Central College. Once you've chosen your subject, you'll be taken to a list of library databases that contain articles on that subject. You can then search those databases for articles.
If you're having trouble finding articles, please don't hesitate to contact us. Librarians are always happy to help you find what you need.
How to find an article on an interdisciplinary subject
If the topic you're looking for crosses disciplinary boundaries, you'll probably need to search at least one database that is focused on each of the subjects and disciplines that are relevant to your research.
Another good place to find articles on interdisiplinary topics is in any of the databases listed under "General Databases" on the library's Find Articles page. Each of the databases listed under "General Databases" includes articles on nearly all academic subjects. The page looks like this:
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