Finding a printed journal article

If you already have a reference to a specific journal article which you want to locate, try the following steps:

  1. If the title of the journal is abbreviated you need to find out the full title. Try an online service such as Journal Abbreviation Sources or a printed reference work.
  2. Search the library catalogue for the journal title. For further help on this consult the section on using library catalogues.
  3. If your search is successful check that the library holds the year which you need, note down the location and proceed to step 6.
  4. If your catalogue search is unsuccessful ask a member of library staff if it is necessary to look in any card or printed catalogue for older titles. If your search in a card catalogue is successful, proceed to step 6.
  5. If the search is still unsuccessful look at the following pages on 'finding an electronic journal article' or 'finding articles in journals not held by your library'.
  6. Look for the relevant journal in the library. If you have problems locating the journal in the library do ask a member of library staff for help. You can usually consult the volume in the library or you may want to photocopy the relevant article. Remember that it is only legal to copy one article per journal issue.

Try it yourself

Search for a journal title such as Journal for the Study of the New Testament in the Union library catalogue.