Health Science

The J.W. England Library maintains both print and electronic subscriptions to many journals. The best way to determine if we have access to a specific journal or article is to look it up in Primo, the library's discovery system.

Finding a Journal:

1.    Navigate to the Journal Search page in Primo.

2.    Enter all or part of the journal title in the search box and run a search, or click on a letter to browse the list of journals alphabetically.

3.     Titles matching your search will be displayed. If you see the title you are interested in, click on the title to see more information, including the coverage options and the years available.

4.    Most journals are available electronically.  To access the journal online, click on "Online access" or select one of the specific vendor platforms listed in blue in the "View It" section.

5.    A select number of journals are available in print+electronic, or print only.  Print journals are shelved on the second floor of the library and are denoted in Primo by the following label:  J. W. England Library Journals (Second Floor).  Be sure to check that the years we have in print match the year of your article before looking for the journal in the stacks.

Finding an Article:    

1. To find a specific article, you can begin by searching for the title in the main Primo search bar.  To make sure you retrieve the most complete set of results, sign-in to Primo using your regular USciences username and password.
2. If you get a large number of results, you can try enclosing the title in quotes to force Primo to do an exact search and narrow down the results. 
3. On the other hand, if you don't see your article in the results list, click on "Expand My Results" on the right-hand side to expand Primo's searching parameters.
4. Once you find the article title, determine whether we have access to it through the library:
   • Full Text--If we have electronic access to the article, Primo will say "Full text available".  Click the link to be directed to the article.
   • No Full Text--If we do not have electronic access, Primo will say "No full-text".  Click the link and Primo will either indicate that we have print access or direct you to place an interlibrary loan request.
5. In a small number of cases, we might have access to an article even if it is not listed in Primo.  You can also search in PubMed, Google Scholar, or one of our other databases.  If you have any questions, Ask a Librarian.

What if the Library Doesn't Have a Journal or Article You Need?

• If you need an article from a journal we do not subscribe to, you can request the article via ILLiad, our free interlibrary loan service. Learn more about ILLiad and other interlibrary loan options here.  You can place requests in ILLiad either by logging into ILLiad directly or by following the links that appear in Primo when we do not have access to an article.

• If you need the article right away, you may be able to visit another library and access it there. There are many other libraries in Philadelphia, several of which are located close to USciences. Learn more about using other libraries.

Google Scholar is Google’s tool for searching scholarly literature.

• Just search using the field below. In your search results, look for the Find Full Text USciences link next to individual results and click it to access full text via our e-resource subscriptions. (The link should only appear next to items available in our collection.)
• If you do not see the Find Full Text USciences link next to an item, look beneath the citation for a blue chevron sign (>>) and click on it.  You may then see a link that says GetIt@USciences that can help you find the full text of the article.

Important Note: Google Scholar's search results are not exhaustive, so do not assume that you have found "everything" on your topic via Scholar. It is just one tool to employ in your searches.

There are several ways to search for books and e-books in the library collection:

Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. 2nd ed.
This style guide provides rules and examples for creating references for sources.  It does not discuss creating superscript citations or writing style.  The National Library of Medicine (NLM) created and maintains this guide.  It is available free and no log in is required.  This is the reference style used by the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.

AMA Manual of Style. 10th ed.
This style guide from the American Medical Association (AMA) provides guidance on creating superscript citations and other aspects of writing in the health and medical fields.  USciences username and password are required to use this link.  Note: the AMA Manual of Style reference format is NOT the same as that from Citing Medicine and should not be used by Philadelphia College of Pharmacy students.