Guide to Finding Periodical Articles
- When You Already Know Which Article You Need
- When You Need Articles on a Particular Topic
- When You Can't Find the Article in UMW Libraries
When You already know which article you need
When you already have a citation and are in need of the full-text of the article (i.e. you want a copy of the article), begin by seeing if UMW Libraries own the journal.
Journal Finder
Go to the Journal Finder, which is located on the UMW Libraries' home page, and type in the name of the journal in which your article is found. Click search.
If there are no results, UMW Libraries do not own that particular journal in full-text, but your article may still be found by requesting it from another library. See When You Can't Find the Article in UMW Libraries for more information.
- When UMW owns the journal electronically, the title will be listed followed by the databases where it may be found and the dates that are available in full-text.
- First, see if your article's date falls into the span of available dates listed. Click on the link for the database whose dates include the date of your article. Search in the database for your article by title, author, etc.
- If the date of your article is not included in the list, the Library may still be able to find it for you by requesting it from another library. See When You Can't Find the Article in UMW Libraries for more details.
- If the journal is owned by UMW Libraries in print or microform, you will see a link for "University of Mary Washington Print/Microform Holdings." Clicking on this link will, in most cases, take you directly to the holdings page in the Library catalog for that particular journal. (If the link does not open to the holdings page, you will need to search the catalog for the journal title. See Searching the Library Catalog for more information.)
- See if the list of dates and volumes includes the date and volume of your article. If it does, note the location of the journal:
- If a journal has a location of "Stafford Campus," it will be located at the CGPS Stafford Library. All other locations refer to the Simpson Library on the Fredericksburg Campus.
- If the article is not located at your own campus, you may request to have it sent there from the other library.
- To request an article from the CGPS Stafford Library, contact the Simpson Library Circulation Desk at 654-1125.
- To request an article from the Simpson Library on the Fredericksburg Campus, fill out the Article Request form online.
- If the dates and volumes on the holdings screen do not include the date and volume of your article, you may still be able to obtain the article from another library system. See When You Can't Find the Article in UMW Libraries for more information.
Searching the library catalog
In some cases, clicking on a "University of Mary Washington Print/Microform Holdings" link will take you to a basic search form in the Library's Catalog.
1) Searching by Title of Periodical, type in the title of the journal you are looking for, omitting the words "a," "an," and "the" from the beginning of the title. Click Browse.
2) Select the journal title from the list of results.
3) Click on the holdings link by the correct journal title.
- See if the list of dates and volumes includes the date and volume of your article. If it does, note the location of the journal:
- If a journal has a location of "Stafford Campus," it will be located at the CGPS Stafford Library. All other locations refer to the Simpson Library on the Fredericksburg Campus.
4) If the article is not located at your own campus, you may request to have it sent there from the other library.
- To request an article from the CGPS Stafford Library, contact the Simpson Library Circulation Desk at 654-1125.
- To request an article from the Simpson Library on the Fredericksburg Campus, fill out the Article Request form online.
5) If the dates and volumes on the holdings screen do not include the date and volume of your article, you may still be able to obtain the article from another library system. See When You Can't Find the Article in UMW Libraries for more information.
When You Need Articles on a Particular Topic
Using the Online Databases
From the UMW Libraries' home page, begin by selecting your subject area from the Research by Subject drop down menu. Click Go.
A subject guide will appear with a list of databases, as well as other sources, that are appropriate for that subject area. Choose a database and click on the link. (For remote access, see Using Databases from Off-Campus.)
Search the database by subject, keywords, etc. to find articles on your specific topic. Be aware that you may have the option to limit your search to include only full-text and/or peer reviewed results. See the Quick Search Tips guide for further help searching databases, or contact the Reference Desk at either Simpson Library (540-654-1148 or refdesk@umw.edu) or the CGPS Stafford Library (540-286-8025 or cgpslib@umw.edu).
Getting to the full Text
Once you have found an article that you want in a database, if it is available in full-text, simply view the article and either print, save, or email it.
If the article is not available in full-text, click on the Locate Journal Article link.
(If the database does not have a Locate Article or Locate Journal Article link, you will need to search for the journal yourself in the Journal Finder. Follow the steps above for When You Already Know Which Article You Need.)
The Locate Article link will open up a Journal Finder screen that will tell you whether or not UMW Libraries own that particular journal in print or online in another database.
- If the journal is available in print or microform, you will see a link that reads "University of Mary Washington Print/Microform Holdings". Clicking on this link will, in most cases, take you directly to the holdings page in the Library catalog for that particular journal. (If the link does not open to the holdings page, you will need to search the catalog for the journal title. See Searching the Library Catalog for more information.)
- If the journal is available online, you will see a list of the databases in which it is located as well as the dates that are available in full-text.
- If your article falls within one of the date ranges listed, click on the link(s) to that database. It may be necessary to search for your article by title, author, dates, etc.
- If the journal/article is not available at UMW Libraries (the Journal Finder shows a "No Online Holdings Available" message, your article does not fall within one of the date ranges listed for a database, or your catalog search shows UMW Libraries do not hold the journal for the dates needed) you may still be able to obtain the article from another library system by placing an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) request (see Interlibrary Loan (ILL) via the Journal Finder for more information).
When you can't find the article in UMW Libraries
When you have exhausted all other avenues (i.e. databases, the Journal Finder and the Library catalog), and you still cannot get access to your article, you may want to consider placing an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) request. Interlibrary loan requests are placed online through ILLIAD.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) VIA the Home page
You may access ILLIAD from the UMW Libraries' home page.
- From the home page, select ILLIAD/Interlibrary Loan under "Find Other Resources". If you are a first time user of ILLIAD at UMW, select the Create an ILL Account link. If you have already created an ILLIAD account, select the Submit an ILL Request link to login.
- Once you login, click on "Request an Article" and enter the information requested into the form (you will need citation information about the article you are requesting).
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and hit "Submit Request". You will be notified via your UMW email when, how and where to pick up the article.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) VIA the Journal Finder
If you have selected the Locate Article link in a database and the Journal Finder has helped you determine that UMW Libraries do not own the journal (the Journal Finder shows a "No Online Holdings Available" message, your article does not fall within one of the date ranges listed for a database, or your catalog search shows UMW Libraries do not hold the journal for the dates needed) you may still be able to obtain the article from another library system by placing an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) request.
You can place an ILL request by clicking on the "Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Request" link shown under "Not available at UMW Libraries?" This link allows you to login to ILLIAD, and will automatically populate the fields in the Article Request form with the article citation information
- Click on "Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Request." The ILLIAD login page will appear. Login with your username and password. (Note: First time users will need to set up an account before logging in.)
- Once you log in, the fields should be automatically populated with the article citation information.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and hit "Submit Request." You will be notified via your UMW email when and where to pick up the article.
Contact Library Staff
As always, please feel free to contact your Subject Librarian/Faculty Liaison or the staff at the Information/Reference Desk of Simpson Library (540-654-1148 or refdesk@umw.edu) or the CGPS Stafford Library (540-286-8025 or cgpslib@umw.edu) if you have questions or need assistance using the Catalog, Journal Finder, databases or placing requests in ILLIAD.