Accessing Journals & Periodicals
Journals and periodicals are found in many formats today. To save you time, we have grouped them into three broad categories according to their access. If you are at the initial step of searching for articles, first use Article Indexes and Databases. Then return to this page to review all of the options for accessing those articles.
Print & Microform Journals in the Christopher Center The Christopher Center has over 1600 print & microform journal titles. To check for print and microform journal titles, use GALILEO. Current issues are kept in the Current Periodicals area on the first floor, while older issues are bound, given a call number according to their main subject, and held in automated storage (ASRS). For more help, see the lower half of this page. Online Journals:
Subscription Indexes Access
via JournaLocatorThese are full-text periodicals and journals accessible only through Christopher Center's subscription electronic indexes. They cannot be found doing general Internet searches (through AltaVista, Yahoo!, etc.). Use this page to determine if journal access is available full-text via one of Christopher Center's electronic indexes and databases. To initially search for articles, use our electronic indexes and databases. Finding Journal Articles
If you have an article citation, use the step-by-step directions below to locate your article. If you just want to see if Christopher Center has access to a journal, follow steps 1-6 below.
1. Go to the Christopher Center Library Services Home Page < http://www.valpo.edu/library/ > .
2. Select "Find Articles"... "By Journal or Magazine Title".
3. Type the name of the journal you are looking for (NOT the article) in the "Search for your journal name here..." box. You can search for "Title begins with" (the default), "Title equals", "Title contains all words", or "ISSN equals."
4. If the journal is on the list, we have it either in print or online. If the holdings say "Christopher Center Print Holdings," then we have it in print. Clicking on this link takes you into GALILEO to find the call number where you'll do a title search (of the journal title) to learn the holdings information and call number. [See the following section for more information.]
TIP: For all holdings, make sure the citation dates match up. For example, if your article is from 1995, make sure the dates available for the needed journal cover the year 1995.
5. For journals in online databases, click on the link of the database name in which the journal is available.
NOTE: To access online databases and journals, you need to be on campus or be a recognized VU user.
6. At this point, some databases will take you directly into a record for your journal title, in which case all you need to do is select the date you are looking for. In other databases, you will have to search the database for your article title. The easiest way to do this is to take a distinctive phrase from your article title, put quotation marks around it, and do a search for this phrase (spelling counts!).
"Christopher Center Print Holdings"
If JournaLocater displays the link, "Christopher Center Print Holdings," this means we have the title in print (or microform) format in the library. Once you complete the title search for the journal in GALILEO, there will be a full display screen for the title. Follow these steps:
1. Note the "LIBRARY HAS" information in the box on the full display screen.
2. Carefully read the information in the box.
3. Compare the volume number and date of the article you need with those indicated in the box.To get more specific information about issues owned:
Choose the option "Latest Received."
CLR-ASRS-Ask at Circ Desk indicates that this journal is bound in book format and held in the automated storage system. Select ASRS Request and enter the requested information to have the journal pulled out of the ASRS and brought to the circulation desk for you to retrieve.
Helpful Hints: Reading a Journal Record in GALILEO
CLR-Periodicals-1st Floor indicates that this journal is in the current periodicals section on the 1st floor of the Christopher Center. Journals here are organized by call number on the shelves.
Microfilm or microfiche indicates that the title is permanently retained in the specified micro format. For some titles, a note in GALILEO indicates that the periodical also has a current paper subscription. For those, the current issues will be found in the Periodicals Section on the 1st floor.
Microfiche and microfilm issues of periodicals are found in the microform room near the circulation desk, in separate sets of cabinets. Contained here are the New York Times on microfilm, the Wall Street Journal on microfilm, and various other newspapers on microfilm. There are microfiche and microfilm readers in both rooms for viewing the different formats. Most of the machines also have printing capabilities.
To see journal titles we have in a subject area, do a subject search in GALILEO. For example, enter "psychology periodicals" to see our psychology journal titles, "nursing periodicals" to see our nursing journal titles, and so on.
Status of item: some monographic serials can be checked out, like Nursing Clinics of North America. This will be evident on the GALILEO screen.
Volumes that have missing issues are held in technical services offices. Read the GALILEO note on the monitor to see if the volume you need is on this shelf. Then, ask a staff member for access to issues.
If we do not subscribe to the journal/periodical:
In GALILEO, a "your title would be here" message will appear on the screen. At this point:Check JournaLocator. These listings will tell you whether or not the periodical you are looking for is available full-text online, and if it is, which electronic database you can use to access it. See the above second section of this page for step-by-step guidance.
If the journal is not in JournaLocater or Galileo, and you are a VU student, staff or faculty person, then:
Our Interlibrary Loan Office can obtain materials not currently held in our library. Allow one to three weeks for delivery. ILL requests can be placed through our website: http://www.valpo.edu/library/ill/index.html. There is no charge to you for this service, either for books or for journal articles (unless the items are damaged, lost or turned in late).