Finding a print journal article in D. H. Hill Library 

When you’re using the library’s databases to locate journal articles, you can usually get a full text PDF of the article you want. 

But sometimes you’ll need an article that isn’t available online. If this is the case, the article may be available in print form at the library.

To find your article in print form, you have to:

get basic information from the article’s citation,

check the catalog to see if a print copy is in the library,

and go get your journal off the shelf. 

First, look at the citation for your article. 

Citations can appear in different forms, but each should contain enough basic information for you to locate the article. 

The name at the beginning is the name of the article’s author.

Next is the title of the article. 

Then comes the title of the Journal...

...and either the publication date, 

or the volume and number of the exact issue that contains your article. 

A volume is just a group of journal issues. 

Usually one volume contains all the issues published in one year.

The journal you’re looking for is the 6th issue in the 73rd volume.

The citation will also include the article’s page numbers.

Write down or save the citation to refer to as you search.

Now you can check to see if the library has the journal.

If you’re on the article’s 360 link page, just follow the link to search the catalog for copies of the journal. 

You can also search for the journal from the library's homepage.

Click, "journal titles." Then, type the name of the journal into the search box. 

Click, "print holdings" to go to the catalog page for the journal.

One entry in the library's catalog will represent many issues of the journal. 

At the bottom of the catalog page you can find out which volumes or issues are in the library.

Click “display print volumes” to see which volumes the library has. 

Since your article is in the 6th issue from volume 73, the library has a copy. 

The volume you need is available, but for library use only--this just means you can’t take it out of the library. 

You can also see that this journal is located in DH Hill Library, in the stacks, on the 8th floor. 

You’ll need to make a note of the call number to locate the journal in the bookstacks. 

Once you have the citation and call number, it’s time to go get your journal. 

Follow the signs to the bookstacks and take the elevator to the correct floor.

If you forget what floor your journal is on, there are maps next to and inside the elevators.

The maps show which items are on which floors. The letters on the map are the same as the letters at the beginning of your journal’s call number.

Since your journal’s call number begins with the letters  RM, you can tell it’s on the 8th floor.

Once you’re on the right floor...

...check out the signs on the shelves.

Each sign tells you the range of call numbers located on that shelf.

Look for the range that contains your call number.

once you’ve found the right shelf...

...scan the call numbers on the shelf

... and go in order until you find your journal. 

Notice that there are lots of volumes of the journal, with the same title and call number. 

You need to find the correct volume, in this case, 73. 

Next locate the correct issue inside the volume-- then you can use the page numbers from your citation to find your article. 

Since this journal doesn’t circulate, you can’t check it out. But you can always scan it or make a copy, using equipment available in the library.

If you need help with this, or if you get confused while trying to find your journal article, you can always ask a librarian for help, in person...

...or through the online Ask Us chat service on the library’s website.