Journals: A
guide to locating journals in the library
All
Library resources, whether in print or electronic format are listed
in the catalog. If you are having difficulty using the catalog or you want to confirm the availability or location of a journal, please contact Crerar Reference by phone at (773) 702-7715 or through Ask a Librarian. The online catalog does not provide access to the contents of journals.
To find articles on a specific topic, you will need to use an indexing and abstracting resource, like MEDLINE. Once you have found a citation, click the 
button, found in all Library databases, to see if we own the journal in which the article is published, either electronically or in print.
Print Journals
Electronic Journals
What if the journal is off the shelf?
What if you don't own a journal
I need?
Print
Journals
There are primarily two locations in the John Crerar Library where biomedical sciences journals are found. Recent journal issues shelve by title on the first floor of the library. Older biomedical volumes shelve by title on the second floor. Note: you may not check out journals except for the brief time necessary to make color scans. Please see reference or circulation staff for more information.
Biomedical unbound journals (recent issues)
= first
floor, east of the Reference counter, shelved by title. As soon
as a journal is checked into the Library it will display in the catalog,
even if staff have not carried it to the floor yet. If you can't find
the most recent issue of a journal, ask for further assistance at
the Reference desk.(see example) Bookstacks (Sci) = second
floor shelved by title. Most back issues of biomedical journals
shelve by title on the second floor. However, some journals shelve
on the third
floor. (see
example) There are two other locations which you may also encounter.
Reserve (SciRes)
= first
floor, behind the Circulation/ Reserves counter.(see
example)
Dewey = lower
level. Journals are arranged in compact shelving by Dewey
call number order. If you need help operating the shelving go to the
Circulation/ Reserves counter. Currently there is no information online
about what volumes are available, so you will need to check the shelves
in person. As a general rule, the most recent issues are no later
than 1984. Take the stairs at the west end of the building, and turn
left. Note: You cannot access the Dewey collection from the lower
level next to the USITE
Crerar Lab.(see
example)
Some journals in the biomedical sciences do shelve on the third floor or on the lower
level by Library of Congress Classification. For example, titles
related to the laboratory animals (SF) (third floor) and biotechnology
(TP) (lower level). Please check the catalog carefully. If the journal
does not have a "Shelved by Title" note, and you see that a call number
outside of the QH-R range is also on the record, then go the third
floor or lower level, depending on call number, and locate the bound
journal by its call number. Confused? Please ask for assistance at
the reference desk.
Electronic
Journals
Go to the Library-wide Electronic Journals Database to search for a specific e-journal or to browse an alphabetical list. Also, look for the Find It button while searching article databases such as PubMed or Ovid MEDLINE. Full-text articles are often available electronically, and Find It helps you locate them. Access to electronic journals is usually limited to University of Chicago faculty, staff, and students.
What
if the journal is off the shelf?
If you've looked
for a journal that that is supposed to be on the shelf try these steps:
- Look in the
re-shelving areas behind the Circulation/Reserves counter and on
the book trucks at the top of the stairwells on the second or third
floors, depending on call number.
- Look in both
photocopier rooms on each floor
- Check at the
Reference Desk to be certain of your information
- Stop at the
Circulation Desk and fill
out a Search Form. (We'll do the looking from this point on.)
Searches take between 1-5 working days.
If you have any questions
about resources or services available to the biomedical sciences community
please contact Deb Werner,
Biomedical Reference Librarian or Christa
Modschiedler, Biomedical Bibliographer & Reference Librarian. You
may also email the Crerar Reference Staff.
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