Saturday, March 29, 2008

Using Periodical Finder

There are several ways to find out if the library has a popular magazine or academic journal: ask a librarian at the reference desk, search our online catalog the same way you would look for a book, or use Periodical Finder. Using Periodical Finder will enable you to see if a title is available in the library and/or online in one of the library's article databases.

1. Go to the SFPL Home Page and select “Articles & Databases.”

2. Select Periodical Finder, which will direct you to a list of databases to which the library subscribes. You will need a San Francisco Public Library card to access these databases from outside the Library.

You can search periodicals by ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) or title keywords, browse through an alphabetical listing, or browse through general subject categories. Results will direct you to the online catalog record and/or to the database(s) that holds content for a particular periodical. The interface to each database varies, but most offer full-text content you can e-mail to yourself, download, or print out.

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