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Finding Periodicals (Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers) in the Library

This guide provides instructions for finding periodicals in the Nancy Thompson Learning Commons (Library).

What is a Periodical?

A periodical is a publication released regularly, including newspapers, magazines, and academic journals. These publications may be published daily, monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly, each meeting different information needs. The Nancy Thompson Learning Commons (NTLC) subscribes to over 68,000 periodicals, primarily in digital format, making it easy to access current research and news.

How to Find a Specific Periodical

The Periodicals A-Z List is the gateway to all of the periodicals available through the Nancy Thompson Learning Commons (NTLC).  Follow the instructions listed below to determine if the NTLC subscribes to a particular journal, magazine, or newspaper.

  • Go to the Learning Commons website https://libguides.kean.edu/NTLC.
  • Click Periodicals A-Z below the Search WorldCat Discovery box.
  • Type the periodical (journal) name in the search box.
  • Click the search button.
  • If the periodical title appears in the results list with a Full Text Access link, full-text online articles are available for the date range indicated through the database(s) listed immediately below the title.
  • Click the database(s) listed below the title to access the full-text content. If you are off-campus, you will be asked to type your Kean Google username and password in a login box. 
  • If the periodical title does not appear on the list, check with a librarian to verify that you are using the correct title for the periodical. If the library does not subscribe to the journal, you may request a copy of the desired article via Interlibrary Loan.
  • When the Library does not own a book or periodical, you may request that the item be sent from another lending library through Interlibrary Loan. Copies of articles will be emailed to you. 

What Is a Peer Reviewed Journal?

A scholarly, or peer-reviewed, journal contains articles that have been critiqued, reviewed, or refereed by scholars in a specific field.

Periodical Databases

You can find articles from scholarly journals, popular magazines, or newspapers by searching in periodical databases.  Periodical databases always contain:

  • Citations -- author, title of article, title of journal, volume, issue, date and pages.

They may also contain:

  • Abstracts -- summaries of article content.
  • Complete articles -- in full-text or pdf image format.

When full-text links are not available, you can check for full-text access in other databases by clicking  Full Text Finder.

Please note: sometimes you see only the   symbol (and not the words "Full Text Finder"). In these cases, click the symbol to check for full-text access in other databases.