Q. How do I find out if the Library carries a particular magazine, newspaper, or journal?

Instructions 

1. Type in the Periodical Finder search box the TITLE of the publication (not an article title). Examples: New York Times, Consumer Reports, Sports Illustrated, Nature.

2. Click search (magnifier icon ) and review the results.

No results? Check the spelling and proper title. Try your search without typing “magazine” or “newspaper.”  

When the library has the publication within its collections, you will see the access options listed below the publication title.

Example Search: You can see in this Periodical Finder search for Sports Illustrated that the database Academic Search Complete has online digital access to the magazine for the years 1992-to-present, and the database Flipster has 2014-to-present. There is also an option for the print version – SFPL Print Collection. 

SFPL Print Collection: When the library has the publication as a print magazine or in microform, you will see in the results list the option “SFPL Print Collection.” Click this link to discover which years are available, if the item is subject to delayed paging, and other important details.

3. Look at the date ranges and select the access option that best suits your needs – click it! This will open a database for online access, or a Classic Catalog record with information about accessing the print/microform. When opening a database, if you are not already logged in you will be prompted for your library card number and your PIN. Need help logging in?

Troubleshooting & Alternatives

• If you don’t find the publication title using Periodical Finder, you can double check for the title of the magazine/newspaper/journal in the Classic Catalog, which will tell you if we have it in a physical format.
• If SFPL does not have access to the magazine/newspaper/journal and you simply want an article from that periodical, you may submit an Interlibrary Loan article request. It is not usually possible to get an entire issue or volume of a periodical. What is InterLibrary Loan (ILL) and how does it work?
• Contact the Magazines and Newspapers Center for assistance.

Where do I find Periodical Finder within the SFPL website?

1. Go to sfpl.org
2. Click on RESEARCH & LEARN and select eMagazines & eNews
3. The link to Periodical Finder is near the top of the list of resources on the main part of the page.