COLLEGE OF MARIN LIBRARY

COM LIBRARY GUIDE #4

HOW TO USE A
NEWSPAPER INDEX

The COM Library subscribes to several newspapers. Local titles include Marin Independent Journal, Novato Advance, San Francisco Chronicle, and San Francisco Examiner. National titles include The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Newspapers are valuable sources of information not only for current events but also for important trends and issues of the past. Citations for newspaper articles are found in print periodical indexes and electronic databases, as well as in newspaper indexes.

A newspaper index differs from a periodical index in significant ways:

The New York Times is one of the best-known newspapers in the United States. It offers extensive national and international news coverage, including important documents and speeches, detailed obituaries, business reports, art and fashion news, as well as reviews of books, movies, plays.

Following is a sample citation from The New York Times Index, 1971, for an article describing the historic occasion of the admission of the People's Republic of China into the United Nations.

Following the abstract, the index indicates the issue date, page, and column of the article:

                                                     O 26………..………...October 26
                                                     1…..………….……….page 1
                                                     8……………...……….column 8

Note that the citation does not indicate the author of the article. Also, the year is not indicated with the date. All citations in an annual volume of the index are from a single year which is printed on the index's spine, outside cover, and cover page. As with print periodical indexes, The New York Times Index includes helpful descriptive information in a prefatory section. Entitled "How to Use the New York Times Index," this section provides a description of the overall organization of the index and details related to the citations.

After copying the article's date, section (if any), page, and column information from the citation, the next step is to find the article itself. The COM Library has issues of The New York Times from 1960 to the current year. Issues from the last three months are located behind the Loan Desk. Fill out a Periodical Request Slip for each issue you need and present it to the Loan Desk staff. Back issues older than three months are on microfilm and available in the microfilm cabinet. If necessary, ask the library staff for assistance in using the microfilm reader/printer.


Going Beyond The New York Times Print Index

Citations for The New York Times in EbscoHOST MasterFILE Premier

In addition to using The New York Times print index, you may also find citations for recent articles from The New York Times in the online periodical index, EbscoHOST MasterFILE Premier, available from the College of Marin Library and Labs Web page. Following is an example of a MasterFILE Premier citation.

Title: China's Path Not Clear. (cover story)

Subjects: UNITED States -- Commerce -- China; CHINA -- Commerce -- United States; WORLD Trade Organization
                  -- Membership; INTERNATIONAL trade

Source: New York Times, 11/17/99, Vol. 149 Issue 51709, pA1, 0p

Author(s): Kahn, Joseph

Abstract: Analyzes the trade agreement between China and the United States announced on November 15, 1999, as a
                  Precursor to Chinese membership in the World Trade Organization. Other nations yet to negotiate their trade
                  Agreements with China; Timetable; US supporters and opponents of the agreement; Provisions of the agreement,
                  Including removal of annual Congressional review of Chinese trade status.

AN: 2487590

ISSN: 0362-4331

Note: The College of Marin Library subscribes to this periodical.

Database: MasterFILE Premier

Note that the MasterFILE Premier citation includes the article's title and author.

The New York Times on the World Wide Web

The New York Times has a site on the World Wide Web at www.nytimes.com. Certain features of The New York Times on the Web such as news of the day, book reviews published within a specified time period, film and theater reviews,  recent columns, and recent articles from specific sections are available if you register with the web site; registration is free. Another feature of the web site is a searchable archive of article citations from The New York Times. Summaries can be viewed for free but you will be charged to access the full text of an article.


If you need help using a newspaper index or any other library resource,
please ask a Reference Librarian for assistance.