Q. What are paper journals?

Sometimes, the word "journal" is another way of saying "periodical." 

"Paper journals" is and old-school way to refer to periodicals (i.e., journals, magazines, newspapers) published in a physical, paper format rather than electronic/online format. Journals in electronic format are available via article databases and websites. Many paper journals are, after a specified issue number is collected, bound into volumes and shelved like books for organization purposes. Volumes and issues factor into citation information for any article. 

If you need to see a "paper copy" of a specific scholarly journal or a general magazine, you can type the journal/magazine title into the library catalog, and check the box next to "Search print holdings only" to verify if that journal is available in "paper copy" and which campus library has it. The paper journal collection varies by campus library.

If you're not on campus to view the print physical copy, you can request a document delivery through interlibrary loan to have it scanned in and sent to you, if copyright allows.