Electronic Access to Decades of Consumer Reports Buying Guides and Magazines With Your Frisco Public Library Membership

By FPL_Sheri

The library provides access to a world of information through databases. One highly valued resource is Consumer Reports, a publication respected for its product research and ratings. The MasterFILE Complete database has full text articles from 1991 to present for the magazine and Buying Guide full text articles from 1999 to present. This is a great resource available from home! Whether you buy the latest and greatest, or you are a thrift store connoisseur, there is product information available for you.

Now that you are excited to use this great resource you need to know how to find it! Have your library card/patron ID number and password ready and follow these steps.

1. Go to the General Reference page for the library.

2. Scroll down and select MasterFILE Premier.

3. Scroll down again and click on MasterFILE Complete.

4. Enter "Consumer Reports magazine" or “Consumer Reports Buying Guide” (including the quotation marks) in the search field and press enter.

5. Select any article from Consumer Reports.

6. Click on the hyperlinked Consumer Reports in the Source field. (Usually toward the top under the article title.)

7. Click on the desired year on the right side of the screen and then on the desired issue.

8. Scroll through until you see the article you need and click on the hyperlinked title.

Viewing options include the HTML full text or PDF full text. The PDF version includes the original artwork or photos. You may print, save, create Permalinks or notes, and get citation information for the articles, too. Quick tip: if you use this resource frequently you can save a Permalink and skip steps 1-6. Happy researching!