FAQ - E-Journals

Are all journals subscribed by the Library available electronically?

• Not all journals are available electronically. Please check in CityU LibraryFind or directly in the Journal Search.
• Not all issues of a journal are available in electronic format. Some e-journals include only recent issues or volumes. Availability is controlled by the publishers and also depends on our subscription. We can only get access to those issues that the Library's subscription covers.

Are e-journals exactly the same as their print counterparts?

• Yes and no. It depends on the format of the full-text articles.
• Some publishers offer full text in the form of page images (e.g. in PDF format). In this case, articles will appear exactly the same as those in print journals.
• Some publishers offer text only, either in plain text or HTML format while some offer text as well as embedded graphs, charts and photos. In these cases, the typo arrangement may not be the same as the print counterpart.

Are there any journals available in electronic form only?

Yes, here are two examples.

• Conformal Geometry and Dynamics
• PhysChemComm

How do I know whether a journal is available electronically?

Search for the journal title in CityU LibraryFind or browse/search directly in the Journal Search.

Why is registration required for some journals but not the others?

It depends on the means of access control used by the publishers. When access is controlled by personal username and password, registration is required. Also, some publishers require users to register so that they may provide personalized services to individual users such as personal journal list, saved searches, email alerting service, etc.

What to do if additional software is required to view the full text?

When the format of the full text is in a format other than plain text or HTML, such as PDF or PostScripts, you need to download the appropriate software from the Web to view the full text. Usually the software can be downloaded freely from the Internet. Some popular plug-in software such as Acrobat Reader has been installed on the CityU network.

Can I access e-journals off campus?

Current CityU staff and students can access most of the subscribed e-journals off campus. Please refer to the Library web page "Remote Access to Library Electronic Resources".