The Francis A. Drexel Library currently maintains subscriptions to approximately
in print format. In addition,
of titles are
accessible through various web-based services. Electronic versions of some print
journals may be accessed via the
by performing a title search.
Current periodicals and newspapers are kept on the "face out" shelving
on the first floor. In general, a "current" issue of a periodical
is one published in the current calendar year. The current periodicals are
arranged in alphabetical order by title. Some popular magazines ( e.g., Time, Sports
Illustrated, Fortune) are shelved at the end of the current periodicals,
under the "Most Requested" sign.
The Library has an 'open stacks policy' for most materials, which means
that patrons may retrieve the materials themselves. In addition, you may
read and print from microfilm and microfiche on the reader/printers located
next to the Library Instruction Lab. If you need assistance with periodicals
or microforms, ask for help at the Information Desk, located on the main floor
of the Library to the right of the Service Desk.The Information Desk is
staffed Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. At all other times, please ask
for assistance at the Service Desk.
The Library retains past issues of most periodical titles in various formats.
Bound volumes of periodical titles are shelved in the book stacks by call
number. Periodical microfilm and microfiche are filed alphabetically in the
Microforms Collection, adjacent to the Reference Collection on the first
floor.
To see which periodical volumes the Library owns, please search the Library Catalog for
the title you need. The catalog record will display which volumes are available
under the "Library Holdings" heading.
Students, faculty, and staff may request journal articles from the InterLibrary
Loan Department (ILL) if the journal they need is not owned by the
Library. Periodicals do not circulate. There are several photocopy machines
near the Service Desk on the first floor where you may photocopy articles.
1) Where are periodicals located within the library?
If the issue you need is considered a "Current issue" (check the
catalog record in the Library Catalog), it will be located on the first floor on the left
side of the library. The current issues are shelved alphabetically by title,
with the most recent issue on the top and more issues located underneath
the lifting shelf.
If the issue you need falls into an older date range (check the catalog
record in the Library Catalog), then it will be shelved according to its call number,
with the bound volumes on the first, second, or third floor.
2) How can I tell if the library subscribes to the journal I need?
Search the Library Catalog for the title. Do a "Browse" search
for the title, omitting the words a, an, or the from the beginning of the
title.
3) Why is the periodical issue I need not on the shelf?
It is possible that the issue has been sent to the bindery. Check at the
Information Desk to find out if this is the case. There is also the possibility
that someone has used that issue and it is somewhere in the library waiting
to be reshelved. Ask at the Service Desk if the issue is not at the bindery
and you suspect it may need to be reshelved.
4) Can periodicals be checked out of the library?
No, you may not check out periodicals. There are several photocopy machines
located in the front of the library in order to make copies of articles.
5) What if the library doesn't have the journal I need?
If the library does not have either a print version or an electronic version
of the journal and/or article you need, you may fill out an Interlibrary
Loan request form at the ILL desk, or online at http://www.sju.edu/libraries/drexel/ill/ill.htm.
6) What is the difference between a "peer-reviewed" journal
and a popular one?
A peer-reviewed journal is one that is produced by an editorial board consisting
of reputable scholars in a particular field. The editors will often have
their credentials or academic affiliation printed beside their name. Peer-reviewed
journals do not generally accept large amounts of advertising, and the articles
include extensive bibliographies.
Popular journals often appear on glossy paper, with copius amounts of advertising
and color photographs.
7) How can I find out if the library has an electronic version of the
journal I need?
All of the electronic journals that the library owns are cataloged and can
be found by searching the Library Catalog. Click on the link in the record to see the
online version.
8) How can I access ejournals from home or off-campus?
As a Saint Joseph's University student, faculty member, or employee, you
have access to the E-journals and e-Resources from anywhere on or
off campus. If you are using an off-campus computer, you must first log in
using the "Off-campus access" button on the left side of the library's
home page: http://www.sju.edu/libraries/drexel.
9) What is the difference between an "E-journal" and a "database"?
An E-journal is the electronic version of a print journal, or a journal
produced entirely in electronic format. A database is a searchable index
of articles from a variety of different journals. e-Resources allow you to
search for many different articles on your topic, while an E-journal is the
electronic full text of one specific journal title.
10) My professor asked me to locate articles on learning disabled children;
why can't I find any articles in the Library Catalog?
The Library Catalog contains records for books and journal
titles only-not article titles or article content. It would be impossible
to provide online access in the Library Catalog to every single article in every journal
that the library owns. The catalog would grow far too large, the library
would violate copyright law, and the average search would take too long to
load. Instead, the library pays for subscriptions to e-Resources, such
as Academic Search Premier and ABI/Inform Global. These e-Resources provide
the means to search for journal articles electronically.
11) Okay, I went to the database that was supposed to be for my topic,
but I can't find any full text articles. Why not?
Some e-Resources provide access only to article citations (references to the
print journal volume in which the article appears) or abstracts (brief summaries
of an article's content). If a database does not provide full text, you must
search the Library Catalog to find out if the library subscribes to that journal in print.
If not, you can request an Interlibrary Loan for the article you need.
12) Can't I just go to the Internet and search for articles using a search
engine like Google?
Well, you could, but there's no guarantee that what you find will be of
significant academic value. The articles collected in electronic library
e-Resources and provided via library e-Journals are "peer reviewed" which
means that the editors of the journals (usually faculty from different academic
institutions) have carefully chosen the best articles from those submitted
to be published. These articles cannot be randomly posted to the Web because
to do so would violate copyright laws. The publishers of these journals sign
detailed licensing agreements with the database providers in order to allow
libraries to provide students with access to their services. If you are really
confused about how to use the e-Resources, stop by the Information Desk at
the SJU library and ask for help.
13) Can I just look at a list of which electronic journals the library
has?
Yes. Under the "Find Articles" heading on the SJU library's home
page is a link to our
E-journals page. Click on the link titled "Browse e-journal lists (by subject)
in our catalog". Then just choose a subject area and pick from the list
provided.
14) If full text electronic journals are available, does that mean that
I can research and write my term paper from my dorm room without ever using
the library?
Anything is possible. However, there are two points to remember in this
case: (1) Since the library pays for the e-Resources and E-journals from its
budget, you are still using the library even though you may not physically
be here, and (2) Limiting yourself to articles that are available in electronic
full text will drastically reduce the amount of information you have to work
with. Not everything is available electronically yet, and some articles are
only in electronic format for recent issues. The less information you have
to work with, the more difficult your research becomes, and the more time
you will spend staring at your computer screen and trying to find whatever
you can in full text.
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