Used to be, when you needed a magazine or newspaper article, you had to look through a set of books called the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature. After you found the dates and titles of appropriate articles, you walked to the shelves to pull actual bound copies of old magazines to copy.
Those days are gone forever! Now, you don’t even have to leave your house to get the complete text of articles from newspapers and magazines.
Let’s say that you need news articles to help you write a school paper, for example. You may want to start your search locally with full-text pieces from the archives of the Los Angeles Times. Click on the “LA Times” button on the right side of the Library web page, http://crowellpubliclibrary.org. On the next screen, enter your library card number with no spaces and your pin number (usually the last four numbers of your home phone number.) Then search the local newspaper of record back to 1985.
Need past articles from newspapers across the country, including the Pasadena Star News and The New York Times? Click on the “Newsbank” button and then type in your library card number to log in. Now you can search individual newspapers or across a selection, all at once. For example, a search of the “Los Angeles Metro” collection pings everything from the Agoura Hills Acorn to the Whittier Daily News.
How about some magazine articles, everything from news weeklies to peer-reviewed journals? Just click on the “Magazines” button. Enter your library card number and then click “Proceed.” From the next screen, you can browse subjects or specific publications. Or, you can type in a keyword to get a list of full-text articles.
Students love this database because it means that they don't have to physically go to the library, find the correct edition of the magazine that they seek, and then photocopy it. Parents find this collection useful when they want to read articles about home repair or appliance reviews. This service can also help busy businesspeople to find quality information right from their desks at work.
Even better, if you have an iPhone or Android smart phone, you can search the magazine index on the go. Visit this website to download the appropriate free app for your phone: http://www.gale.cengage.com/apps/.
And there’s more than just news online! The Crowell Public Library subscribes to an array of information resources that you can use through our web page with your library card at any time of day or night. These cover a variety of subjects including language lessons, career advice, and even investment strategy from Value Line.
Need a library card to access all this wonderful information? You can print out an application right from our web site. Under “About Us” on the Crowell Library page, choose “General Information.” From here, you can click for a copy of our application in .pdf format. Print it out and bring it in to the library with identification that shows your name and current address. We’ll get you a library card right on the spot!
