Q. Why don't you have access to the journal I require?

There are several reasons why we may not have access:

We don't subscribe to the journal at all

We subscribe to more than 50,000 journals, but that's not all the journals in the world. This includes large packages and subscriptions to individual journals. The Journal Title Database will indicate if we have a subscription. You can suggest new journal subscriptions to your subject liaison.

Our subscriptions doesn't include the date you need

Some journal subscriptions only allow access back to the 90s but not earlier issues. Other sources may only provide up to one year ago's issues, so not the latest ones. The Journal Title Database will indicate what dates are available to us.

You may be on the wrong site

We don't always have access to a journal directly from its publisher; access may be through a third party database. You may have found a link to an article on a publisher's site, but we have that article available elsewhere. The Journal Title Database will indicate through what platforms/sites each journal is available. Pick the one that includes the date range you need.

You are outside the campus network

When you access a journal's site through the campus network, the site will recognize you as part of Virginia Tech and allow you access. Accessing the same site while outside the campus network will result in the site either blocking your access or ask for payment before you can download the article.

Accessing Library Resources From Off Campus

Follow the Accessing Library Resources From Off Campus guide or use the VPN software to ensure access to library resources while outside the campus network. Simply start your search on the library's website, search in the main search box, use the link to Discovery Search's advance search screen, use the link(s) to browse or search our databases, journals, ebooks, or configure Google Scholar to show Get VText links. Once you encounter a resource that requires authentication, you will be automatically prompted to sign in and authenticate yourself as affiliated with Virginia Tech via 2-factor authentication. You can also install the LibKey Nomad browser extension to access library resources. Simply install the extension from the Chrome web store. During the installation process, you'll be asked to identify your library; simply search for Virginia Tech. When using the VPN, be sure to select the option to route All Traffic Over SSL VPN (and not just traffic to on-campus servers).

Please note: For articles or journals that we do not have access to or are unavailable, you may request for these through the Interlibrary Loan department (ILL). For further information, please see the Research Guide for ILL.