Find Articles
When searching for information sources to complete a class assignment, it may be possible to find some useful information by doing an Internet search, which is why many students choose to start and end their research there. However, most research material from scholarly/professional journals, mainstream magazines, back issues of newspapers, and other academic sources—i.e. material that is more likely to be relevant and reliable—is generally not freely available on the Internet. The successful student knows that online subscription databases are usually the best place to start a research project, and the PCC Library provides access to a large number of databases on a wide variety of topics.
To help find the databases most suitable for a particular research topic, the Library’s Online Databases page provides links to an alphabetical list of databases, a list of databases arranged by subject, and a list of databases organized by resource format: scholarly and/or popular articles, e-books, audio books, videos, poetry, images, and more.
Accessing Library Online Databases from Off-Campus:
When using any of the Library's online databases from home or any computer that is not a part of the PCC network, you will need a username and password. There are several ways to obtain these passwords. Read the Passwords for Online Databases page for more information.
Where do I start?
In most cases you will start by searching a general topic database. This type of database covers many subject areas and contains articles from journals, magazines, and newspapers, including full-text articles from both scholarly and popular sources.
General topic databases offered by PCC Library include:
NOTE: Searching a general topic database is not like searching the Internet. Read over the Database Search Tips to help you get started.
If you have an idea of the subject area that you need, try the:
To browse a complete list of the library's databases, see the:
If you need information from a specific type of resource such as a newspaper, encyclopedia, online book, map, etc., try the list of:
What about PRINT sources in the library?
To find out if the library carries a print subscription to a particular journal, magazine, or newspaper, use the library catalog to perform a periodical title search:
What if I still can't find what I'm looking for?
Ask a Librarian!
A librarian can help you determine whether or not the library has access to a particular journal, magazine, or newspaper article. If an article is not available at the PCC Library, you can choose to order articles through our interlibrary loan service.
