Consumer Reports Magazine, Free, Full Text, Online, From Your Desktop

(If you don’t have a WCCLS public library card, ask how to do this search at your own public library. For example, you can also find this magazine, and others, online through the Multnomah County Library)

Most people don’t know that with only a public library card, they can read, online and free, the product reviews (and everything else) that appear in Consumer Reports magazine. But you can!

Here’s how you do this at Washington County (WCCLS) public libraries (your own public library will have its own search strategy):

1) Go to the WCCLS Home page

2) Under the heading Periodicals, click on View All.

3) In this list, look for and click on EBSCOhost–Magazines and Newspapers

4) Type in your library card number.

5) From the search screen, type in your keyword(s), e.g. refrigerator, and then type Consumer Reports in the Journal Name field. Press Search and see what happens.

6) I bet you can take it from here, but if not, phone the WCCLS library helpline at: 503-526-2577.

If the above steps do not work, phone that help number. The problem may not be at your end. Online databases are tricky beasts and they do go wonky (don’t we all on occasion :-).

Oh, and let me know if I’ve left off a step. It won’t be the first time! But I’d be glad to fix my instructions.