Starting With Some Basics

Print journals in the Library can be found in three places:

• Unbound Periodicals are shelved on the north side of the third floor of the Library as you exit the elevator (see floor plan). Periodicals shelved here are the most current issues of the journals or magazines the Library subscribes to (usually having been published within the year).
• Bound Periodicals: When the library has enough issues of a magazine or journal to bind together, the issues are sent to the bindery. They return weeks later as "bound periodicals" and are shelved on the fourth floor alphabetically by journal title. Signs on the end of each shelf range indicate what titles are in that particular section. If you wanted to see the issue of Time that came out the week you were born, you would find it on the fourth floor.
• Storage: The library regularly sends older and/or seldom used bound journals to a storage facility in Rootstown in order to have sufficient space for newer bound journals. These journals can, however, easily be retrieved from storage by using the Remote Storage Retrieval Form at right, or by coming to the Interlibrary Loan Office in RT 324.

WARNING: As mentioned above, both current and bound periodicals are shelved in alphabetical order by their titles. If you are looking for a journal with a title that begins with an "acronym" or "initialism" such as AORN Journal or U.S. News & World Report , look on the shelves at the beginning of the first letter in the title. For AORN Journal, look on the shelves at the beginning of the "A's". For U.S. News & World Report. look on the shelves at the beginning of the "U's"

As always, if you're having trouble finding what you need, use one of the phones on the fourth floor to call the Reference Center at x5300.

Finding a Needle in a Haystack

To give you an idea of how this would work for you in a practice, we're going to look for a needle in a haystack.

Our search begins with Art Full Text, where we have entered our keywords, needle and haystack:

Our search yielded 1 article, "Finding a needle in the on-line haystack " which can be found in volume 183 (March 1995) of the journal, Architectural Record (shown in the screen shot below). To find out the location of the journal, we need to click on the Find It! button.

Clicking on the Find It! button opens up a new window in OLinks telling us that the CSU Library does own Architectural Record. Current issues are on the 1st floor; older bound volumes are on the 4th floor. It even tells us that volumes 1-12 are on microfiche. Since the volume we are looking for is from 1995, we should be able to find it on the 4th floor, so that is where we'll head.

On the 4th floor we look for the sign telling us where the "A" bound periodicals are shelved (see above). Then we have to find the row or range of shelves for our journal, Architectural Record. Signs on the end of each shelf range indicate what titles are in that particular section. In this case the sign on the shelf we need reads "Applied Physics - Architectural Rec."

We scan the row of shelves until we find Architectural Record. Once we find the journal title we want, we have to find the volume we want — volume 183. We find two volumes labeled "183"; one that includes the Jan-June 1995 issues and one that includes the July-Dec. 1995 issues. Our citation says we need the March 1995 issue, so we pull at the volume labeled Jan-June 1995 (below, left).

Once we have the bound journal in hand, we find the March issue inside of it. and then turn to page 40 (see above right). And believe it or not ... we have found our needle in a haystack!

Photocopying What We've Found

Bound volumes do not circulate outside of the Library. To photocopy the article we have just found, we take the bound volume over to the copy machines on the east side of the 4th floor near the atrium.Other copy machines are available on the first and third floors as well. For more information see photocopying and printing.

What If the Library Does Not Own the Printed Journal?

If you are a registered CSU student, faculty or staff, Interlibrary Loan Service will be happy to obtain a copy of the article for you. Find out more about Interlibrary Loan.