21H.931 Seminar in Historical Methods

Locate the Full Text

Once you've searched databases, you will have a list of citations to track down. When looking for the full text of the documents you need (articles, books, etc.), follow these guidelines:

Getting Journal Articles

The Old-Fashioned Way

Step 1: Use an index or database to find an article title (see Find Articles for examples)
Step 2: Find the journal in Barton
Step 3: Write down the call number and go pull the journal from the shelf

Some Shortcuts to Make Life Easier

• Shortcut #1: Look for the "SFX" button.
  • You’re in a database and have found an article you want. How do you get it?
  • Easiest way? Click on the "SFX" button or on the "Get this - MIT" link.
  • SFX will tell you:
    • Does MIT have the article in full text online?
    • . . . Or is it in print in the libraries?
    • . . . Or can you get it through Inter-Library Borrowing?
• Shortcut #2: If you know exactly what you’re looking for, go directly to SFX FullText Finder.
• Shortcut #3: Use full-text journal databases (see Find Articles for examples)
  • But remember: These don’t always have subjects! You’re searching the articles line-by-line
  • They are less comprehensive than indexes

What do I do if MIT does NOT own the book or journal I need?

• Inter-Library Borrowing (ILB) is a service offered at no cost to you. Request a book or journal article from another library. This service may take as little as 3 days, or up to 2 weeks. Plan ahead!
  http://libraries.mit.edu/ilb

• Search the Boston Library Consortium libraries for books and journals from libraries in the area. You can go to these libraries yourself to make photocopies or check out books.
  
  
  • BLC Libraries catalogs - search each individually for a book. If you plan to borrow the book, you first need a BLC card from an MIT library reference desk.