Many times librarians
hear of students and faculty paying for full-text articles on the Internet. Since
the Alkek Library now has access to over 57,000 unique serial titles, don’t pay
for online articles before you contact a librarian to determine if we can
provide free access.
As more journals
are published online, the process of locating articles is becoming more
complex. The coverage of journals indexed in the databases can overlap, but
each one is unique. One database may index a journal for citations only,
whereas another may provide the full-text. Also, several databases may provide
access, but to different dates and issues of the same journal. Searching Google
Scholar may often link to full-text articles, but usually only when one of the
several hundred databases accessible through the library provides the full-text
coverage. And then there are always
glitches that may temporarily block access.
Confused yet?
That is why we encourage you to contact a librarian if you are asked to pay for
an online article so we can help you discover if the library has free access to
the article.
One way to
determine access is by checking the Periodical List on the library
website. Search for the title of a journal, magazine or newspaper to see if we
have print or online access.
Although the
library does have access to thousands of periodicals, we do not subscribe to
every journal published. If we do not have full-text access in print or online,
you can order the article through Interlibrary Loan.
This service is provided free to all students, faculty and staff through the
link on the library webpage. You can order
articles, books, dissertations and other material. For more information, call the Reference Desk
at 245-2686 or use the Ask-a-Librarian service on the library webpage.
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