General Search Strategy
The follow instructions are guidelines for searching inside the online version of UNC Libraries Catalog. The catalog automatically searches through a massive amount of material across multiple libraries, so the best option for efficiently locating a particular newspaper title on microform is through the use of search filters. This is certainly not the only way to search within the UNC Libraries Catalog, but it is an effective method.
Step One: Search for your newspaper title in the UNC Libraries Catalog.
- Once you've arrive at the UNC Libraries Catalog, type in the title of the newspaper that you want to locate. The next page should contain two boxes titled "Articles+" and "Books & More." Choose to "View All Results" under the "Books & More" box, as this will allow you to view the physical holdings at UNC Libraries.
Step Two: Use the "Refine Your Search" filters to quickly narrow your search results to the appropriate title and medium.
- On the left-hand side of the main library catalog page, you should see a "Refine Your Search" bar with multiple filter options. The two most effective options for locating newspapers on microform are Format and Genre. Select "microform" as your Format and "newspapers" as your Genre.
- Note: It may not be effective to apply a Location filter to your search results, as not all newspaper microforms are stored in the same libraries. For instance, many collections are held in the North Carolina Collection at Wilson Library, while some more recent titles and editions can be found at Davis Library.
Step Three: Examine the catalog entry to determine if your needed year is available.
- In the this linked example, you can see that the catalog provides you with some general coverage dates for the selected newspaper microform. However, if you click the "Expand" button, you will be able to view a more detailed breakdown of the available dates. This final step in the process will allow you to ensure that the library has the exact copy of microform that you need.
