On a daily basis, customers visit our locations to access our print collection of Consumer Reports. It's no wonder.
For the past 80 years, Consumer Reports has "provided evidence-based product testing and ratings, rigorous research, hard-hitting investigative journalism, public education, and steadfast policy action on behalf of consumers’ interests...unconstrained by advertising or other commercial influences." But individual subscriptions to the publication can be pricey, and customers appreciate using our institutional subscription.
Great news for our public: our cataloging department has made access to the publication easier. You can now link to our digital subscription through a simple catalog search and you can access Consumer Reports without ever visiting the library.
Start with a simple catalog keyword search on [consumer reports]. The first result in the list includes an 'Also available online' link. By clicking on the link, you will be directed to our Consumer Reports access in our EBSCO databases.
From here, you may click on the 'Search within this publication' link and keyword search on the product you are researching (e.g., dishwashers). You will return a list of articles about dishwashers, with the most recent articles at the top of the results list.
For those who are more interested in browsing an issue, you may click on the issue chronology on the right-hand side, and drill down to the issue and article level.
Often, people are interested in the Consumer Reports Buying Guide. The Buying Guides will appear in the catalog results list of a [consumer reports] search, or you can search more specifically [consumer reports buying guide] and filter those results up to the top of a search. One more tip: we no longer have access to the New Car Buying Guide. The April issue every year features new cars; this is the best alternative for research.
Remember you may ask for help via the chat service if you get stuck in your search. Friendly librarians are waiting online to help you find what you need 24 hours a day.