Publications generally containing articles, stories, features, photographs, illustrations, and advertisements covering a variety of topics. Usually published on a weekly or monthly basis.

Suggested resources

American Periodicals Series Online
Digitized images from American magazines and journals that originated between 1741 and 1900. Includes general interest magazines, children’s publications, women’s magazines, and literary and professional journals.

Balay. Early Periodical Indexes
Location: Skillman Ref Z6941 .B35 2000
Bibliography that lists and describes bibliographies and indexes of literature published in periodicals before 1900.

Ebony Magazine Archive
Digitized full-text archive of Ebony, the seminal magazine with an African-American focus on culture, politics, civil rights, business, education, and fashion. Includes the iconic cover pages and advertisements in addition to full text articles.

Historical Guides to the World’s Periodicals and Newspapers
Location: Skillman Library (connect to catalog)
Series of books that provide historical profiles of periodicals and newspapers with accompanying bibliographical data.

Making of America (Cornell University)
Searchable collection of magazines and journals published primarily between 1840 and 1900.

Making of America (University of Michigan)
Searchable collection of magazines and journals published primarily between 1850 and 1877.

Online Books Page: Serials
Provides very brief publication histories and direct links for journals with freely available online archives, including the titles from the Making of America series.

Periodicals Index Online
Electronic index to millions of articles published in over 6,000 periodicals in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, covering more than 300 years.

Poole’s Index to Periodical Literature
Location: Skillman Ref AI3 .P7 1882x
Coverage: 1802-1906
Indexes 470 American and British periodicals.

Radical Periodicals in the United States
Location: Microform Area (connect to catalog)
Collection of 105 periodical titles published between 1880 and 1960.

Reader’s Guide Retrospective
Coverage: 1890-1982
Index of articles published in popular press magazines.

Women’s Magazine Archive
Coverage: 1885-2000
Archive containing cover-to-cover, color issues of 11 of the leading women’s interest magazines from the 19th century through the 21st: Better Homes and Gardens, Chatelaine, Cosmopolitan, Essence, Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, Parents, Redbook, Seventeen, WIN News, and Women’s Day.

Library catalog searches

Use the table below to develop search strings for locating primary source bibliographies and collections in library catalogs.

Searching for . . . Enter this phrase + modifier(s)
bibliographies periodicals and bibliography and [ethnic group]
[gender]
[nationality]
[topic]
indexes periodicals and indexes and [ethnic group]
[gender]
[nationality]
[topic]
related titles periodicals and [ethnic group]
[location]
[topic]

Sample searches:

  • bibliography and periodicals and african american*
  • periodicals and pennsylvania