Locating Journals, Magazines and Newspapers

This guide shows how to find journals, magazines and newspapers in the SFU Library. Journals and magazines are called periodicals, which means that they are publications issued 'periodically', such as weekly, monthly, quarterly. A broader term (serials) is used when referring to periodicals (i.e. journals and magazines), newspapers and annuals. Serials are available online, in print, or in microform in all three branches of the SFU Library.

If you need additional assistance in finding periodicals, do not hesitate to ask staff at the Information Desk at Bennett Library on the 6th floor (778.782.4087) or at the reference desk at Bennett Library (Information Commons Reference Desk, 778.782.5735), Belzberg Library at Harbour Centre (778.782.5051) or Fraser Library at SFU Surrey (778.782.7414).

Where are print serials located?

In the Bennett Library current print journals and magazines (current year only!) are located in the Current Journals and Newspapers area on the 6th floor. Back issues are located in the Bound Journals area on the 6th floor, or in the Lam Collection on the 1st floor. Current newspapers (current three months only!) are located on the 6th floor in the Current Journals and Newspapers area. After three months, newspapers get microfilmed. Microforms are located on the 6th floor in the Microforms area.

All publications are shelved alphabetically by title, except when they are published annually, in which case they have a call number and are shelved with general books.

IMPORTANT: If you need to find journal or newspaper articles on a particular topic, you will have to first search in an appropriate article database. Check the list of article databases available at the SFU Library to see which database is the *best* for your discipline. For newspaper articles, use the databases listed under News Sources.

Find them in the catalogue...

If you need to know whether the SFU Library has a particular journal or newspaper, and whether that serial is available online, in print, or in microform, you will have to search in the Library Catalogue. This is usually the case when you have a citation to an article from your textbook or another good article.

For most journals, magazines or newspapers, search the library catalogue by Journal Title. If the journal title is a common one, such as 'Review', 'Annual Report', or 'Annals', you can also search by name of the issuing body (e.g. the name of a corporation, government department, association or conference). e.g. American Academy of Political and Social Science; Society of Behavioral Medicine, etc. For this purpose choose the Author field, not the Journal Title field.

Periodicals and newspapers available electronically

If you are looking for a particular volume or issue of the journal Canadian Journal of History, for example, you will see in the library catalogue that the SFU library has the print version and the electronic version of this journal. Note, however, that some journals are available only electronically, and some are available only in print.

Check both formats to find the one in which the volume you need is available. The library may not have the same issue available both electronically and in print. If the volume (or the issue) you want is available in electronic format, click on the link located just below the wording Click for online access.

In the 'Availability' area, choose the link to access the journal/magazine according to the full-text coverage and the volume/year you need. Once in the journal itself, choose the volume/issue accordingly. Print out the article, save it in your personal file space or e-mail it to yourself.

Periodicals and newspapers available in print

If the catalogue shows that the volume/issue you need is in print, you will have to physically find it in the library and photocopy the article.

Newspapers available in microform

Take a look at the example of New York Times. Check all three formats (print, microform and electronic) to find the right one in which the issue you need appears.

When the microfilm version of a newspaper arrives, the print version is discarded. Check the microform entry for your newspaper to find out where the issue you need is shelved,

Check the 'Latest Received' to see what is the latest issue that has been received, or if any issues are missing.

Serials with call numbers

Some serials are shelved not by title, but by a call number with the regular books. This is because they are published annually and have only one volume per year. Make a note of the call number and location for these titles, for example:

Limiting a search to 'journals'

Usually you will choose the Journal Title search field within the library's catalogue to find the serial you want, but if you need to search for publications from a society or a publisher, you can use the Author search field, which might return a large number of records. For example, searching by Author for publications by the American Chemical Society in the library catalogue, you will see that there are too many titles to look through. Limiting your search to 'journals only' will narrow your results:

Click on the button.

Select JOURNALS from the drop-down menu in the 'Books or Journals' field; you will then get a list of publications only.

Requesting from another SFU library

If the article you want is in a journal at another SFU Library branch, you can request it to be sent to your chosen library location. For example, Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, is located at Belzberg Library at Harbour Centre, but you prefer to have the article sent to Bennett Library in Burnaby.

Retrieve the journal record from the library catalogue and click on .

Fill in the form, and don't forget to choose your pick-up location, which now must be other than Belzberg.

Requesting articles through Interlibrary Loans

If the journal you need is not available at any of the SFU Libraries, you will have to request it from another library through the Interlibrary Loans service. From the Library Home page click on the 'Request items from another library' and fill in the form.