Searching for older journal articles often involves using print
indexes.
Though publishers are working hard to put older indexes online, many indexes to periodical literature are only available in print format. These print indexes are arranged by year and then usually by Subject/Author/Title of the articles within the year. Some print indexes go back to the beginning of the 20th century and even earlier.
Some print indexes you may be familiar with are:
- The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature
- The Social Science Citation Index
Sometimes an online index doesn't go back very many years, but is available in a print format that covers much older articles. A good example is Book Review Digest which covers back to 1983 online, but begins in 1905 in print.
You may also search the UF
Libraries Catalog to see what years of an index are available and
in what format. The results list may include a separate entry (record) for
the print and electronic format. Click on these entries until you see the
time frame you need, and then note the location and call number or access
information.
You may check to see what years are covered by electronic indexes by using
the Find Databases search.
Some older journal, magazine and newspaper articles can be
found by using certain electronic indexes and paper indexes.
Here are some online indexes that cover older articles:
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You can find out which print indexes are best for you by asking a librarian at the Reference/Information desk at any UF library or online. It is also helpful to look at subject guides for help with selecting online and print indexes.
Journals, Magazines and Newspapers in Storage
A note about journals: Older journals, and those formerly shelved in Library West are kept in storage so library users should allow time for retrieval of those materials. They may be in paper or reproduced on microforms. You may check the Journals/Serials section of the UF Libraries' Catalog to see if any issues are in storage. Fill out the storage retrieval request (linked in the catalog) to get the journal that you need.
Getting Materials from Other Libraries
If the UF Libraries do not own the journal, magazine or newspaper
your article comes from, or does not own the older issues of the journal,
you will need to use our interlibrary loan service to get photocopies. You
may fill out an Interlibrary Loan form in these ways:
- The online Interlibrary Loan for Photocopies form.
- Use the built-in "ILL request" in databases or indexes, if available.
