What is the Reader's Guide?
The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature is an index of articles published in popular magazines.
- Goes back to 1900
- Volumes are in order by date
- Each volume is organized by topics
- Look for a "See also" section at the end of a topic, for directions to other categories that might be useful
It can take a little time and thought to match your topic to the topics listed in the Reader's Guide, so be prepared to brainstorm alternative terms if your first search terms/keywords don't turn anything up.
The Reader's Guide is located in the reference area (behind the ref desk and the microreaders).
How do I understand the Reader's Guide?
Each article citation will follow this format:
Magazine titles
Important: The Reader's Guide abbreviates magazine titles in its citations.
You should always check the abbreviated title against the "List of Periodicals and Reports Indexed," found at the very beginning of the first volume for each year/time period. Look up the abbreviation given in the citation and match to the full title.
**Note that some years/time periods are broken into two volumes, like "A - K" and "L - Z." The List of Periodicals and Reports Indexed is always at the beginning of the first volume, before the A's.
Subject Guide
