Is it Online or In Print?
Articles, historically published in printed magazines and journals, are today more commonly used & traded in PDF format by scholars. While we all love the instant gratification of digital formats, there is value in seeing the printed article. In some cases, it's the only way to see the content.
A few examples:
- American Fabrics, printed starting in 1946, is a magazine we keep in Special Collections for extra careful handling (make an appointment).
- Back issues of International Textiles magazine are bound together and shelved along the south (right-hand) wall of the library.
- Textile History is one example of a magazine we have available both in print and online.
Use our Journals Index to explore availability across all of the periodicals in our collection!
Finding Articles
Fleet Search combines many of the library's databases into one integrated search. It is very handy but does not include everything; you may also want to try some of the methods to the right.
To use it, start from the library homepage and click the "Fleet Search" tab over the search box.
After that, you will be taken to a different interface with your search results. From there, you can filter the results in many ways: by year, subject area, language, etc.
Databases A-Z
Using individual databases can actually be more productive than the one-size-fits-all Fleet Search. You can see the whole list (with decriptions!) at our Databases A-Z page. Below are a few that are especially pertinent to students of Textiles and Apparel.
- Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI) This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Scholarly vs. popular
When is it important to use an article that's been written by a scholar (published in an academic, or peer-reviewed journal)? When is it acceptable to use something written for a popular audience (from a magazine, blog, etc)? These are questions you will need to negotiate with your instructor.
Think of yourself as a scholar (because you are!). You should primarily be building off the work of other scholars. Sometimes, though, it makes sense to reference popular sources, especially when talking about trends or citing interviews.