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Periodicals Guide: Find Journals: Tips & Tricks

This guide aims to help you navigate the print periodicals on the Lower Level of Geisel Library. It provides tips on how to find and use periodicals.

Tips & Tricks

Some journals are harder to find. Follow these tips if you are having trouble finding a periodical.

You can also stop by the Periodicals desk with any questions & for help finding these journals!

General Tips

Leave out the "The" at the beginning of journal titles

  • Journals that begin with the word "The" are shelved alphabetically by the word after the "The." We do not count the "The" as part of the title.
    • Ex: "The New Yorker" is shelved as an "N" publication, not a "T" publication.

Check for acronyms if you can't find a journal

  • Some journals are shelved by their title's acronym instead of the full title. If you can't find a journal by its title, try finding it by its acronym.
    • Ex: "PS" (Political Science and Politics)
    • Ex: "ANS" (Advances in Nursing Science)
    • Ex: "MCN" (The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing)
  • Tip: since some of these acronyms are not intuitive, look the journal title up in the catalog to see if the acronym appears next to the journal title.

Pay attention to titles that begin with "Journal for..." vs. "Journal of..." These titles take every word into account, so "for," "of," and "the" all count when ordering the journals alphabetically. For example, "Journal of the World Mariculture Society" comes before "Journal of Theological Studies," which comes before "Journal of Tissue Culture Methods." Every word is in alphabetical order.

  • Journal titles that begin with "Journal for..." are shelved in the "J's" before titles that begin with "Journal of..."
  • Here is an example of how they are shelved, in order:
    • Journal for Research in Mathematics Education
    • Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing
    • Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    • Journal for the Study of the New Testament
    • Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
    • Journal of Abnormal Psychology
    • Journal of the American Academy of Religion
    • Journal of the American Chemical Society
    • Journal of the American College Health
    • JACC - Journal of the American College of Cardiology
    • Journal of the American Dietetic Association
    • Journal of the American Geriatric Society

Check the moveable shelves for sections you might have missed

  • We have two sections of moveable shelves on the M - Z side of Periodicals.
  • Because these shelves can move, the journals on them may be hidden when you first walk by.
  • Move the shelves by pressing the green arrows on the end of the shelf. If the light is blinking or is red, hit the "reset" button. If multiple shelving units are blinking, you'll need to reset all of those shelves before any of them will move.

Tips for Finding Foreign Language Journals

Leave out the "L'," "La," and "Le" at the beginning of journal titles in another language

  • These words all mean "the," which we ignore when alphabetizing journals. Just like we leave out the "The" when looking for journals, we leave out these "L" words.
    • Ex: "L'Obs" is shelved in the "O" section
    • Ex: "La Nouvelle" is shelved in the "N" section