Scholarly Credentials Toolkit for TCNJ Faculty: Other Options

Navigate this libguide from the TOC below or the blue tabs (and sub-tabs) above.

UlrichsWeb, not licensed by Gitenstein Library but available to guest users at Princeton's Firestone Library, is the digital analog of the longstanding Ulrich's Periodicals Directory. It provides comprehensive information about hundreds of thousands of journals including both active and ceased titles. Search for a journal by keyword(s) or ISSN. Limit your results to place of publication, journal topic, refereed designation, and so forth. Journal records contain:

• the ISSN number, a unique journal identifier necessary for a "clean" search in WorldCat;
• subscription numbers (indicator of reach);
• refereed designation (indicator of quality);
• subject classification, content description and topics covered;
• abstracting and indexing sources (indicator of reach and quality as the more places a journal is indexed the greater the chances scholars will discover and read its content);
• indication of inclusion in Journal Citation Reports (indicator of quality, though many important journals, particularly in the humanities, are not covered by JCR); and
• journal reviews (indicator of quality, but keep in mind that librarian-oriented reviews are sometimes unwelcome by disciplinary tenure committees).

WorldCat is a "union catalog" that describes journals, books, and other format types held by thousands of U.S. libraries and beyond. It provides the truest indication of the total number of libraries that subscribe to a journal, a quantitative indicator of significance.

Search WorldCat by the journal's current ISSN number. Title searches are not recommended because they will potentially yield dozens of records for the same journal, reflecting among other factors name changes over time. If you do not know the ISSN number try Googling it or use Ulrichsweb if you can gain access. Understand that even a "clean" ISSN search can result in more than one record for a particular journal title. That is because thousands of libraries contribute their holdings records to WorldCat. Records for the same journal can vary slightly from library to library, but there will always be a "main" record in WorldCat to which most libraries attach their journal holdings.

Follow these steps to search WorldCat:

• Choose the "Advanced" search option.
• In the options labeled "Limit type to" click "Serial Publications"; it eliminates results that include books compiled from the journal's articles.
• Enter the ISSN number into the first blank box labeled "Search for". In the corresponding search type field (displaying "Keyword" by default), click  the down arrow and then choose "Standard Number" as the search type. Execute your search.

Again, more than one record for the journal could display. Total up the number of "Libraries Worldwide" for each record you feel reflects the journal in question. You might also wish to take note of which types of libraries—public, special, and hopefully academic—subscribe to the journal.