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University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

How to Find Articles

How and where to find articles using the Library website.

Library Catalog Journal Search

Search by title or ISSN* for journals, newspapers, magazines, and other periodical publications. Both print and electronic results will be included.

*An ISSN is a unique 8-digit code that is assigned to every serial publication. It is like a book's ISBN.

1. Go to the Library homepage.
2. Scroll down until you see the large orange capital "I" with the words "U of I Collection" underneath it. Click on the "I."

3. Look for "Journal Search" above the search box and click on it.

journal search option circled 

4. When you begin typing a title in the Journal Search box, suggestions will appear, as shown in the screen capture below:

journal search box with automatic suggestions in dropdown
 

Choose the title you want and you'll be taken to the catalog record for that journal.

4. Notice that in the results for this journal title, there are options for the print (in the Oak St. Library) as well as online. In this case, I want the online version so I'll click the link highlighted below:

Journal search results with highlight on the link that says available online

 

5. After you click on the "Available Online" link, you will go to the section of the catalog record that shows you the different ways we get the journal online. Sometimes, as in this case, there are only one or two options, but sometimes there are many more. Be sure to look carefully at the dates underneath the links to see if the volume or issue you need will be available. In this case, the most recent year of the journal is not in the first option, so I'll click on the second option.

image of two choices for places to view the journal online.

6. Once you are on the journal's website or the database that has the full text of the journal, either search within the journal or browse the issues.

list of journal issues on the journal's website

Journal & Article Locator

The Journal and Article Locator is a tool that allows you to search for journals by title.

  1. Go to the Library homepage and click the "Databases and Journals" tab. Then select "Journal and Article Locator."

  2. Search for the journal name. 

  3. Click on the "E-Journal Keyword Matches."

  4. This will take you to the "Online Journals and Databases" page from the previous section on this page, "Online Journals and Databases". Start at step 3 to get to the correct volume and issue of the journal.

Easy Search

When you search for a journal in Easy Search, the "Suggestions" box at the top will give a link to search results in the U of I Library catalog. If the journal is popular, there might also be a direct link to the journal.

image showing direct link to journal website (first link) and link to journal title search in the catalog (second link)

If you use the library catalog link, you will be directed to the library catalog Journal Search. To search for your journal article, start at Step 4 in the section Library Catalog Journal Search on this page.