Christian Periodical Index
1979 to the present
CPI indexes over 120 publications from a broad spectrum of knowledge including science, literature, medicine,
music, philosophy, history, sociology, nursing, and education. The periodicals selected represent the major
doctrinal positions within evangelical Christianity; a significant number are not indexed in the ATLA Religion
Database.
CPI includes citations to articles but does not include full-text articles. Periodicals not owned by the Seminary
may be requested through interlibrary loan.
The Association of Christian Librarians first began the print version of CPI in 1956 with 20 titles; the online
version, updated quarterly, includes most titles from 1979 to the present and will eventually include the early
years.
Accessing CPI is available on designated computers in the library. Click on the CPI icon on the desktop. After
the page opens, check the box beside the name of the database and then click on Open Selected Databases
located at the top right. In the computer lab, follow the link from the library’s home page. WTS students, faculty,
and staff: for access from home ask for passwords at the circulation or reference desk.
Searching The search techniques below will get you started; you will discover several more ways to search as
you explore CPI.
Type your search term or phrase in the Find box, choosing words anywhere or limiting your search to title,
author, or subject.
If you are using more than one term, use Boolean operators between terms as appropriate.
| a search like this: | retrieves records containing: |
| holy spirit | the phrase holy spirit or spirit holy |
| holy adj spirit | only the phrase holy spirit |
| justification and faith | both words |
| justification or faith | either word or both words |
| brainerd near edwards | these words in proximity |
| martin and luther not king | both the first two words,
but not the third word |
| spirit* (truncation) | spirit, spirits, spiritual, spirituality |
| wom?n (wildcard) | woman or women |
When you look at your search results, click on any hyperlink author, source title, or subject heading (also called
a descriptor or DE) to expand or focus your search.
You may also limit your search in several ways by clicking on the Limit button. Remember, though, to clear all
limits once you no longer want them—they do not automatically go away.
If your search finds no records, use the Index in the right-hand menu to view the exact terms CPI uses. Type
one word and select the appropriate index (general, author, title, descriptors).
Notice as you do any of the above searches and return to the initial screen, a search history is accumulating
below. You may then combine several searches by clicking on the boxes. Click ‘and’ to combine the selected
searches. This search will produce a narrower result. Examples:
Marriage counseling retrieves 338 records
Divorce retrieves 472 records
The combination retrieves 19
When you look at your search results, click on any hyperlink author, source title, or subject heading (also called
a descriptor or DE) to expand or focus your search.
Finding an author Type an author’s last name and first initial followed by an asterisk* (trueman c*), using
words anywhere. If your results include several authors, click on your author’s hyperlink to focus the list. Or
use the Index if needed.
Finding Scripture references Type genesis iii or john xvii (note roman numerals for chapter numbers), using
words anywhere. This will include genesis i-iii and john xiii-xvii. Or, go to the Index, type bible-ot-genesis-iii or
bible-nt-john-xvii (using hyphens). You will see the range of descriptors used for that specific chapter. Click on
the boxes of all descriptors of interest and continue your search.
Another strategy is to type genesis 3 in the search field. When the list of results loads, check the descriptor
field to determine the correct structure including roman numerals for the search. For example:
psalm 119 retrieves 9 hits; copy and paste psalms cxix into the search field to retrieve 13 hits
Genesis 3 retrieves 21 hits; copy and paste genesis iii into the search field to retrieve 42 hits
Printing, emailing, and saving records Mark the records you want to print, email, or save to a disc by
clicking the small box to the left of each relevant record. Then click the appropriate button at the top right of the
screen and follow the instructions.
Online help is available, but ask a staff member for help anytime. Or contact
Reference Librarian Marsha Blake for a consultation: wtslibrarystaff@wts.edu or (215) 935–3880.
Montgomery Library
Westminster Theological Seminary
www.wts.edu
(215) 572–3821
