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Note: This guide assumes that you already have the citations you need, and are ready to get the actual articles. If you need help finding citations to articles on your topic, ask library reference staff.
If you got your citation from a scientific article bibliography or from an index such as Biosis Previews (Biological Abstracts) or Science Citation Index, chances are that the title of the journal has been reduced to a cryptic abbreviation.
If you are using a print index, look for a list of journals in the front of the volume. If you are in an electronic index, it may include a list of journal abbreviations. Or, try a library tool designed for decoding these abbreviations. Ask at the reference desk for a print list of journal abbreviations, or try the online MGet It Citation Linker.
For example, suppose you are working from the following citation:
Science, truth, and other values [review] B. Mueller-Hill biblA list of journal title abbreviations translates this title to Quarterly Review of Biology.
Q Rev Biol v68 p399-407 S '93
To find out, search Mirlyn.
Select Basic Search, and try a Title Begins With... search using the name of the journal (not the name of the article)
The results screen indicates that this journal is available in print at several different library locations at UM, including Science, and is also available electronically from two different providers.type Quarterly Review of Biology
Tip: If you retrieve too many similar titles in the results, try using the Basic Search (or Browse) option for Journal/Serial Name begins with... This will remove individual book titles from the results and make it easier to see the journal title. Do use Journal/Serial Name begins with... for titles like Science or Nature.
Look at the list of holdings, to see what print volumes are held by the specific library. To find out whether the Science Library has the correct issue of Quarterly Review of Biology, click on the journal title to see the full record, then scroll down to the holdings.
The entry for Science says that the library has
1- ;; 1926-which means that the Science Library has everything from volume 1 (published in 1926) onward.
UM subscribes to electronic versions of many journals. If some issues are available electronically, Mirlyn will include a link to the online issues. Note that electronic holdings (years available) may differ from the print.
A list of electronic journals is available at: http://www.lib.umich.edu/ejournals/
You can browse this list alphabetically or by topic, or search by journal title. You can also browse or search for online journals in Search Tools.
Due to licensing restrictions, remote access to many of these journals is limited to only current students, staff, and faculty of the University of Michigan.
MGet It - If you are searching within an electronic database, your list of articles may include an MGet It button (sometimes wording is Availability at University of Michigan) by the citation. Choose the button, and a new browser window will open with a link to full-text (if available) and to the Mirlyn catalog (for print holdings).
Detailed information on Mget It is available at: http://www.lib.umich.edu/help/sfx/
Other Shortcuts - Some index databases, like Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, display search results which also include direct links to the full-text article in addition to MGet It links. If such a link is also offered, give it a try.
Note: If you do not see an Mget Itbutton, or a link to full-text, do not give up. UM may still have have your article in electronic format. Just search Mirlyn as described above. These shortcuts are a convenience, but the index databases are technically complex, so providing the shortcuts is not always possible.
Look at the call number and the current issue numbers, then consult the location guide to see where your call number is located. Current issues of journals are located in the Current Journal Room at the north end of the third floor; older issues are bound and shelved throughout the third floor.
Since the issue number of our example journal, Quarterly Review of Biology, is not listed in Mirlyn as a current issue, the volume is shelved in the main journal stacks on the third floor. The call number for this journal at the Science Library is QH 301 .Q2
To find this call number's location quickly, consult the Science Library Floor Maps, available in the handout racks across from the Reference Desk.
Each UM library has its own arrangement for shelving current and bound journals. If you go to another UM library, ask for help at their reference desk. And, before you walk there, check the journal holdings in Mirlyn to be sure that the volume you need is owned by that library
If you are unable to find a complete citation for your journal it may still be possible to find it on Mirlyn. Try an Advanced Search and type the words or portions of words in the appropriate fields. You can also limit your search by format, to serials for example; just select Serials (all) from the drop-down Format menu under the Refine further section. For example:
Select Title Word(s) and type annal? chem?This search will retrieve titles in several different languages; you can look at the holdings to find a journal where the volumes and years match with your citation.
Under Format, select Serials (all)
Advanced Search also works for serials like the USGS Monographs, which can be hard to find in our catalog:
Select Author Word(s) and type "geological survey"This example searches the phrase "geological survey" in the author field of the record, and searches monograph (or monographs, monographic, etc.) as a word in the title. The results list is short enough for you to find the USGS series.
Select Title Word(s) and type: monograph
For more information, see the Using Mirlyn guide or look at the Mirlyn help pages.
If the journal issue you need is not owned by any library at UM, or is at the Bindery, you can request an article copy through Interlibrary Loan. Submit ILL requests electronically, and receive your article in pdf format. The process may take several days, longer for hard-to-find items.
If you need further help, please ask at any library Reference Desk, or AskUs.
Created by Betsy Williams, Shapiro Science Library
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© The Regents of the University of Michigan, 2007.
