Library FAQs

What are periodicals?

Magazines, newspapers, and journals are all types of periodicals; they are issued periodically or at regular intervals.

How do I find articles from periodicals about a given topic?

The easiest way to find articles over a topic is to search a library database.  General databases cover most topics, while Subject databases cover a particular subject. 

How do I find the full text of an article?

Most articles will have either PDF or HTML full text.  Occasionally you may see something like "Blinn Library Subscribes to this periodical".  If you click that link it will often take you to the library catalog where you can see where the hard copy(paper) of the article is located.  If the item is not at your home campus, it can be emailed to you. Contact the Library if you have further questions about this process.  

What can I do if Blinn Library does not have full text access to an article I need?

Ask a librarian for help. We can show you how to search other library catalogs in the area for availability of the periodical you need. We also can request your article from another library through process called interlibrary loan. Please keep in mind that materials ordered through interlibrary loan might take several days to two weeks for delivery.

Take a look at our handout Journals vs Magazines, is it scholary to see some of the differences between scholarly and popular articles, always consult your instructor about the types of resources needed for your assignment.

Please see the Remote Access instructions link for how to log in from off campus.

You can get full text access to articles from literary journals. These can be found by clicking on the “by subject” link under the Articles & Database caption on the library home page.  Once you click Articles & Databases, click on the “Literature and Literary Criticism” link.  Below is a link to our Literature guide and a link to the list of Literary databases.

Check out our Citing Sources Libguide for information about citations.  The Writing Center also has some excellent handouts about citations.

Evaluation of sources is an important step of the research process.  The link below will help you to evaluate the material you find.