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Searching Magazines in Catalog
Tips for searching for specific magazines in our catalog.
Why are tips needed? Multi-issue items such as magazines present special handling conditions within a catalog and need to be treated differently. Additionally, in our online catalog, slightly different types of records exist for magazine issues dated 1999-2004 as compared to more current issues of the same magazine. This is due to evolutionary changes in cataloging software since the years those issues were added.
The following is a guide to help you when searching for specific magazine issues, both past and present.
Records of printed magazine issues dating 2005 to present are listed in our online catalog and are available for you to request specific issues.
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To find these records, simply search for the magazine's title. You may also use the optional drop-down Limit by: feature, setting it for Magazines and Annuals.
- Procedures to place a request for a specific issue:
- From the Availability by Branch tab, select the issue of your choice by clicking that issue's small icon in the left column. This icon looks like a small brown book in a hand. (Do not use the regular Place Request link, because you need to tell us which issue you want.)
Issues dated 1999 - 2004
Records of print magazine issues dating 1999-2004 in our collection are listed in the online catalog and available for you to request, but special searching techniques must be used to display these records.
Why different? 1999 was the first year that magazine issues were entered into our electronic catalog, thus allowing issues to accept online hold requests. Due to technical limitations at the time, each issue was entered separately as though it were a book, with the record's title consisting of both the magazine's name plus the issue's year/month (yy/mm) date. This practice continued through 2004, until our present method was devised.
- To search for issues of the 1999-2004 date ranges, both title and date must be included in your search as the "title." Do not use other limit features.
- Example: ROMANTIC HOMES 04/12
Place your request as though this item were a regular book, using the Place Request link.
Pre-1999 Issues
Any magazine issues owned by our Library which are dated prior to 1999 (including microform archives) are not included in our online catalog.
Please see the text listing of the Periodical Holdings List for the full range of issues available and contact a library staff person to arrange a request for a specific issue.
Electronic Magazine Articles & Issues
Most E-Source magazine articles are now full-text online (either as a PDF or HTML page). Contents of individual issues of a specific publication can usually be displayed also. For more information, see the help documentation within the E-Source or contact a library staff person.
If an abstract-only article record is found via E-Sources and you wish to obtain the full text of the article, please contact a staff person or use online Ask a Librarian.