Chapter 13. Library
Section 13.4. Locating and Borrowing Materials

13.4.7. Serial Collection (Journals & Periodicals)

Definition

Serial: The term used to describe a publication that is issued in successive parts. Examples are periodicals, magazines, journals, newspapers, annual reports, and series. Journal and periodical are terms also used to describe such publications.

General Information

The Library subscribes to a large number of scholarly journals and general periodicals to provide the most current information available on a variety of subjects, especially those of a scientific and technical nature.

"SPAN" (Serials, Periodicals, And Newspapers), a database of over 201,000 journals, magazines, and newspapers found in Michigan's libraries, and "Electronic Journals" can be found on the Library's Web page "Electronic Resources."

Procedure

To locate and use a printed copy of a serial, do the following:

1. Consult Voyager to identify the desired titles and dates and make note of the call number.



2. Look for current issues of popular titles arranged alphabetically by call number in the periodical area.



3. Locate other titles or bound volumes of back issues in the stacks by using call numbers and proceed as if looking for a book.



4. Find specific articles in magazines and journals by consulting the periodical indexes and abstracts shelved on the first floor.



5. When finished with the periodicals, indexes, or abstracts, leave them on the study tables for the Library staff to reshelve.


NOTE: Faculty, staff, and graduate students may borrow periodicals for up to three days by taking it to the Circulation Desk to be "charged" to personal custody.

To locate an electronic version of a serial, do the following:

1. Use a computer terminal in the Library, on the first floor, or a personal computer, refer to theLibrary's Web page "Electronic Resources".