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Understanding Periodicals: Finding Journals at the McGill Libraries

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Periodicals are publications released at regular intervals (weekly, monthly, quarterly) that provide current information on various subjects. Periodicals can commonly refer to anything from scholarly journals, professional or trade magazines, popular magazines, to newspapers. For students and researchers, periodicals are vital resources for staying up-to-date with recent developments, finding in-depth analyses, and accessing peer-reviewed research.

Types of Periodicals

  1. Scholarly Journals: These are peer-reviewed publications containing articles written by experts in academic or professional fields. They include citations and bibliographies and are aimed at researchers, scholars, and professionals.
  2. Popular Magazines: These are generally written for a general audience and contain shorter articles on various topics. They include advertisements and are not typically peer-reviewed.
  3. Trade Publications: These focus on news, trends, and practical information for professionals in a specific industry.
  4. Newspapers: Provide daily or weekly news and articles on a wide range of topics, including current events, politics, and culture.

Which one to use completely depends on your research purpose, but as a university student, you will rely heavily on journals while doing research.

Finding Journals at the McGill Libraries

The McGill Libraries offer various tools and resources to help students and researchers locate periodicals. The Sofia Discovery Tool, sometimes referred to as WorldCat, is a comprehensive search tool that allows users to find articles, books, media, and more across McGill’s collections. If you are looking for a specific journal, you can search using the title. Include double quotes around the title of the journal for better results (ex. “Journal of Canadian Studies”). Under Format, select Journal, magazine to see only journals in the results list. For journals that are available online, under Format select eJournal/eMagazine. To find periodicals related to a specific subject, you can use keywords, titles, or subjects and then filter the results to show only articles or journals using the same filter as previously (Under Format, select Journal, magazine). Here also you can filter the search to only view journals that are available online.  For more specialized searches, using databases might be more effective​.

In addition, the McGill Libraries provide access to numerous databases, both multidisciplinary and subject-specific, and subject guides curated by liaison librarians, offer tailored recommendations for databases, journals, and other resources relevant to specific fields of study. 

Accessing and retrieving Periodicals

  • Online Access: if McGill has online access, periodicals will be available to access electronically. Once you locate the desired article or journal via Sofia or a database, you can access it online if it has the Access journal link.
  • Print Access: If a journal is only available in print, you can retrieve it from the library’s physical collections. The library also offers scanning services and interlibrary loans if a specific article or journal issue is not available at McGill. Make sure to note the library branch and call number since you will need that information to locate the print journal.

Getting Help

If you need assistance finding or accessing periodicals, McGill Libraries offers various support services, including chat, email, and in-person help from librarians. They can guide you through the search process, recommend resources, and help with any technical issues.

For more detailed guidance and resources, visit McGill Library’s Journal Finder and explore their subject guides​.

Book Launch – Dr. Helal Hossain Dhali: How Extremists are Made

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Five people stand at the front of a room holding Dr. Helal Hossain Dhali's book

On May 16th, 2024, the Faculty of Education, in collaboration with the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, McGill University Libraries, organized a book launch for Dr. Helal Hossain Dhali’s new book, The Role of Coloniality, Decoloniality, and Education in Shaping Perspectives on Extremism: Exploring Perceptions among Students in Bangladesh. The book was recently published in March 2024 by Routledge.

Dr. Helal, a McGill alumnus, university faculty member, and a postdoctoral researcher at Université du Québec à Montréal, is recognized for his dedication to education and social science research. His research predominantly focuses on marginalized individuals, exploited people, and those vulnerable to violence, conflicts, and extremism.

In his book, Dr. Dhali explores how various entities—states, governments, political parties, institutions, groups, and individuals—can exhibit and evolve extremist tendencies. The book challenges conventional definitions of extremism, offering a broader perspective on how such ideologies manifest. Furthermore, it presents a comprehensive educational model with practical recommendations for policymakers, educators, students, and other stakeholders in the educational sector. Although his research used the perspectives of Bangladeshi students as a model for his research, the author argues that the book can be helpful for any country suffering from any form of extremism.

A view of the talk from the back of the room. Many people are spread throughout the room listening to the author talk.

The book launch, co-organized by McGill Libraries, featured valuable speeches and discussions. “Books will always be central to a library’s mission,” said Eamon Duffy, Head of Liaison Services, Humanities and Social Sciences Library, McGill University Library. Eamon also highlighted the importance of celebrating the achievements of McGill authors, and how this could be “the first of many”. The panellists, Dr. Ratna Ghosh (Department of Integrated Studies in Education, DISE), Dr. Ghayda Hassan (Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal), and Subho Basu (Department of History, McGill University), offered critical insights into the issues addressed in Dr. Dhali’s book, enriching the discussion with their diverse academic perspectives.