Skip to Main Content

After you graduate - Finding Information

A guide to resources available for graduates of OSU and others who cannot access library resources as an OSU student, staff or faculty member.

Access to Databases

Licensing agreements restrict the off-campus use of online databases to OSU faculty, staff and students. You can, however, use the databases in the library.

Your local public library will also have access to many online databases. Once you have a local library card, you can access these databases from home.

 

 

Online Journals

Many journals will allow you to search their table of contents for free. In some cases some of the articles may be available online for free. Search for the name of the journal to see if the table of content is available.

Another good source for journal articles is the DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals). These journals are free and offer full-text articles.

JURN directoy offers access to journals that have free or mostly free content in the arts and humanities. Scientific Journals.org also has fulll text journals in all disciplines.

PubMed Central is a great source for articles in medicine and related fields. Another option is Free Medical Journals.

For the scientists, you can use CERN for physics and ABC Chemistry.

Interlibrary Loan

OSU Libraries can offer interlibrary loan services only to current OSU faculty, staff and students. To borrow materials from other libraries, please visit your local public library.

Please check with your local public library regarding borrowing and interlibrary loan privileges. Some libraries may charge for interlibrary loan services.

General Databases

While you won't have access to the OSU databases off campus, there are many free sources you can use to find books and articles on a topic. Below are some sources you can use to find books and articles on a variety of topics.

WorldCat - a database of books and articles held by libraries around the United States and some international libraries. Search Worldcat to find out what's been published in your area and request the items through your public library's interlibrary loan service.

Google Scholar - A subset of Google that searches for more scholarly materials such as articles and books. Some articles may be available online for free but others you will need to request through your public library's interlibrary loan service.

Specialized Databases

While we cannot offer access to our databases off-campus to OSU alumni and community users, there are some that make their content available for free, although the articles themselves may not  be available for free,

 Here are some subject specific online databases you can use.

Open book from Public Domain Pictures