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Info for Graduating Students & Alumni

A guide to library resources available to graduates of the University of Notre Dame.

This guide assists you when preparing to leave the university and with discovering available research materials once you are no longer an enrolled student. 

By contract, remote access to most of the Hesburgh Libraries' indexes, databases, and electronic journals is available only to current Notre Dame students, faculty, and staff. However, many useful databases are available without a subscription or institutional affiliation. We have assembled a select list of these here.

Use OneSearch to find Open Access & Peer-Reviewed Articles

The OneSearch discovery tool is the search tool you have used from the Hesburgh Libraries website. OneSearch has the ability to filter for open access and peer-reviewed items. 

  1. On the Hesburgh Libraries website, perform a keyword search.
  2. When the search results display, use the "Refine my results" filters in the left-side of the display to limit your search:
    1. Select Open Access to include items that are available openly.
    2. Select Peer-reviewed Journals to display journal articles only.
    3. Select Books to display books only.

Open Access Research Materials

The open access resources listed below provide scholarly content that is freely available for use in research and learning. Open access (OA) materials are sometimes thought to be lesser quality materials. Many authors and publishers of OA materials still provide rigorous peer-review processes despite making their resources openly available. Here are some sources to help you find quality research materials when you do not have access to licensed databases and content.

Publishing fees for open access materials are generally paid by the author or funding agency at the time of submission, rather than having the user or library pay for access by subscription or other licensing. Note: Be sure to give credit to the authors and publishers by using proper citation format when you use these and any works that are not your own

Open Access Browser Tools

These tools or add-ins can help you identify sources for open access materials.