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All library locations and services will be closed on Friday, March 29, and Saturday, March 30, for the spring holiday.
Behind-the-scenes software update - you can now log in to the online catalog, view your account, and place holds. Phone renewals are not available yet - for now, you can renew online or by contacting us.

Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports is the most authoritative resource for product information. Published by a non-profit, independent test organization, it’s one of the most popular magazines in the world. Our access provides full text and images from 1991 to the latest issue.

Consumer Reports can help you:

  • Compare the quality and cost of major purchases, like cars or appliances, before you buy.
  • Find unbiased information about safety issues, such as determining what foods are safe for your baby.
  • Get the latest performance information about an industry or product. That information can help if you’re starting a business or patenting a product.

Accessing Consumer Reports

Access Consumer Reports here. If you’re not in a library building, you may be asked for your library card number when you sign on. If you have any trouble with access, get in touch.

Searching Consumer Reports

Once you’ve signed in, there are two way to use Consumer Reports.

  • Browse: the right side of the homepage has a list of years, which you can expand to browse to a specific issue.
  • Search: look for the “Search within this publication” link near the top of the page. It will give you a search box with JN “Consumer Reports” already filled in. Make sure to leave that there, and add AND followed by your search terms afterward (for example, JN “Consumer Reports” AND cell phones).
    From the search, you can use the options in the left-hand sidebar to narrow your date range and subject.

When you see a list of articles, you can click each title to read a short abstract and find out what the article is about. To see the article as it would appear in print (with its magazine layout and photos), click the “PDF Full Text” link.

Consumer Reports is provided to Durham County Library via NC LIVE.