Reference Books
- Encyclopedia of environmental science. 2000. Ref 363.7 E19
Provides information on the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and geosphere and is careful to focus on the connections between these realms and the Earth as a whole.
- Environmental encyclopedia. 2 volumes. 2003. Ref 363.7 En892
Topical coverage includes a broad range of environmental perspectives, including scientific, political, and social issues. Most entries have short bibliographies for further study.
- Encyclopedia of environmental ethics and philosophy. 2 volumes. 2009. Ref 179.1 En19E
- Our Earth's changing lands: An Encyclopedia of land-use and land-cover change. 2 volumes. 2006. Ref 333.7 Ou71
A unique encyclopedia on global land use, ecology, and land-cover changes over the past 300 years. Written by leading scientists, the encyclopedia includes an eclectic mix of 318 signed A-to-Z entries on the topics of land-use change agents, policies, impacts, models, technology, government programs, and geographic and geopolitical regions.
- The Encyclopedia of ecology and environmental management. 1998. Ref 363.7 En19C
Addresses the core definitions and issues in pure and applied ecology. Provides up-to-date alphabetical guide to over 3000 topics, which are comprehensively cross-referenced.
- Encyclopedia of global change: Environmental change and human society. 2 volumes. 2002. Reference 363.7 En19
- The Global warming desk reference. 2001. Reference 363.73874 J59g
- World resources: A Report by the World Resources Institute and the International Institute for Environmental...2006. Reference 333.7 W89
- Oxford companion to the earth. 2000. Ref 550 Ox24H
Written by some 200 expert contributors, and illustrated with over 600 pictures, including 16 pages of color plates, The Oxford Companion to the Earth offers 900 alphabetically arranged entries that cover everything from deserts and wetlands to mountains, caves, glaciers, and coral reefs. Includes articles on natural phenomena, the history of Earth, key figures, and important ecological concerns.
- Encyclopedia of world climatology. 2005. Ref 551.503 En19W
Emphasizes climatological developments that have evolved over the past twenty years and offers more than 200 informative articles prepared by 150 experts on numerous subjects, ranging from standard areas of study to the latest research studies. The relationship between climatology and both physical and social science is fully explored, as is the significance of climate for our future well-being.
- Encyclopedia of soils in the environment. 2004. 4 volumes. Ref 631.403 En19H
A comprehensive and integrated consideration of a topic of vital importance to human societies in the past, present, and future. Encompasses the present knowledge of the world's variegated soils, their origins, properties, classification, and roles in the biosphere. A team of outstanding, international contributors has written over 250 entries that cover a broad range of issues facing today's soil scientists, ecologists, and environmental scientists.
- Handbook of soil science. 2000. Ref 631.4 H19S
- Mineral facts and problems. 1975. Ref 622 Un3
- Environmental engineering dictionary. 1998. Ref 628.03 L51e
- McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of environmental science and engineering. 1993. Ref 628.03 M45
- Methods and standards for environmental measurement. 1977. Ref 628.14 M41m
- Index of plant diseases in the United States. 1960. Ref 623.3 Un3
- Encyclopedia of forest sciences. 4 volumes. 2004. Ref 634.9 En19F
- The Information please environmental almanac. 1991. Reference 333.7 In3
- McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of energy. 1981. Reference 333.7 M17
Finding Books
- Online Catalog
- Find books, as well as a variety of other materials in the TU Libraries.
- Use the Advanced search option to specify material format, campus, language, and date range.
- WorldCat
With a new interface, this database lives up to its name with bibliographic information to more than 50 million resources including books, audio-visual materials, dissertations, government documents, research reports and other resources cataloged in over 50,000 libraries. Direct links to resources in the Zondervan catalog are now possible for searching call number and availability of resources held here. WorldCat is an important resource for identifying reputable and substantive web sites.
- Google Books
Google's digital books provide the capability of full-text book searching to identify essays, chapters and passages of potential relevance. The majority of these still fall under copyright so only a few pages are viewable. Books not owned by Zondervan Library can be requested through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
Finding Articles
- Academic Search Premier
A multi-disciplinary database that indexes over 8,000 periodicals and provides full-text articles from 4,500 periodicals across the liberal arts and sciences.
- Agricola (NAL Catalog)
Indexes resources in agriculture, chemistry, the life sciences representing the holdings of the National Agricultural Library. 1970 to present.
- BIOSIS Previews (See Librarian to use this database.)
- BioOne
Provides full-text access to many important journals in the biological sciences, mostly those which are published by small societies and non-commercial publishers.
- Biology Digest
Covers botany, environmental science, life science etc. Particularly strong in medicine and health. Covers 1989 - present.
- British Library Direct
From one of the largest collections of scientific-technical journals in the world are the last five years of indexing from some 20,000 frequently requested journals. Much of this database is now available through WorldCat.org.
- CAB Abstracts
is an immense index and abstract database of agriculture and broadly related areas such as grasslands, soil technology, crop science, and agricultural biotechnology. It provides coverage to more than 9,000 periodicals Like BIOSIS Preview, it can be searched with librarian assistance. Go here for more information.
- GEOBASE
Covers the worldwide literature of geography, geology, ecology, and related disciplines with indexing and abstracts for journals, books, conference proceedings, and reports. Over 2,000 journals are fully indexed; 3,000 selectively indexed. 1980-present. (To see a list of periodical titles indexed in Geobase open this pdf file.)
- Google Scholar
Provides more refined, filtered searching than a general Google Search. It provides keyword indexing to the tables of contents to many scholarly journals. It derives literature citations from a variety of places including coverage of some "gray literature" and frequently links to the full-text when available. Note also the links to "Cited by" in Google Scholar; this enables you to see what articles have cited the linked reference. Some links to journal articles go to open access journal literature and .pdf documents in the public domain. Note its capabilities to export citations to RefWorks.
- JSTOR
JSTOR (Journal STORage) presents the searchable full text of the complete back files for over 100 important scholarly journals. Coverage generally includes the first volume through issues published prior to the most recent 3-5 years (current issues are not available in JSTOR). Includes journals for the following disciplines: African-American studies, anthropology, Asian studies, ecology, economics, education, finance, history, literature, mathematics, philosophy, political science, population studies, sociology, and statistics. Also search JSTOR via Google Scholar by including "+JSTOR" in the search.
- Environmental Abstracts (formerly LexisNexis Environmental) plus three other Environmental Databases, all searchable with a new platform (CSA) please see Dan Bowell for the access information. These require a login.
Environmental Abstracts: Covers a wide range of today's key environmental issues from a diverse collection of source types, on topics including: energy, air pollution, toxicology, land use and pollution, water pollution, wildlife/biodiversity, population/sustainable development, global warming, waste management, and agriculture.
BioOne Abstracts and Indexes: Provides a unique aggregation of over 82 high-impact bioscience research journals from more than 66 publishers. Some journals are covered back to 1998, with the majority being covered from 2000.
EIS: Digests of Environmental Impact Statements: Extracts the key issues from complex government-released environmental impact statements, converting massive documents into concise, readable abstracts. Each entry includes a clear description of the project, sections on positive impact and negative consequences, and legal mandates.
Sustainability Science Abstracts: Explores all aspects of sustainable development, human population and demography topics, as well as societal issues involving natural resource management. Also covered are the topics of conservation of natural resources, ensuring the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs in the present as well as maintaining the potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations.
- NTIS
The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) provides summaries to U.S. government-sponsored research, development, and engineering and also includes some local, state, and international government-sponsored research reports. Acquiring NTIS documents can sometimes require a considerable amount of time and expense. Some of these may be available through Interlibrary Loan (see below).
Find Specific Journals
Finding dissertations and theses (North American)
- WorldCat provides a key resource for identifying dissertations and theses.
- Dissertation Abstracts Online this is the primary indexing and abstracting tool for dissertations (and some theses) published in North America. Some of these titles can be identified through WorldCat and borrowed through Interlibrary Loan.
Web Resources
- Access Science
Based upon the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, 9th edition and its annual yearbooks, the Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th edition, providing 13,000 high-quality illustrations, news stories from Science News, and selected websites for further research capabilities. Access Science is updated daily with new articles, research updates and current events.
- Environmental Research Web
Created to provide an international forum for scholarly discussion and analysis of environmental issues and policy - published by IOPP (Institute of Physics Publishing). Sections on Opinion, Talking Points, Research Highlights and Sustainable Futures include links to related web sources and open-access articles.
- EarthTrends: The Environmental Information Portal
Graphs and maps illustrate some of the major conditions and trends in population, agriculture, biodiversity, forests, water resources, energy, climate, and social and economic development that determine the state of the world's environment. These data give a broad picture of trends over 20 years.
- EPA US Environmental Protection Agency
Browse the site by topic, look at information or education resources, or check out current laws, regulations, and dockets. Home page has various national, regional, and state news articles.
- Environmental Studies web sites from Western State College of Colorado
Provides links to Environmental studies directories, megasites, search engines, organizations, environmental legislation, etc. Some of the resources are specific to Colorado, but most are of interest to those concerned with general environmental studies topics.
- Scitopia - Combined Searching Tool
Scitopia is a search engine that covers the conference proceedings and publications of various physical sciences and engineering organizations. In addition, Scitopia also searches three patent servers: the US Patent and Trademark Office, the European Patent Office, and the Japan Patent Office. A more recent addition is the Department of Energy Information Bridge site, a freely accessible resource that covers a range of technical reports and other documents from the Department and contract laboratories. Everything available through Scitopia is free.
- Infomine can be a good source to complement WorldCat and the two sources above.
- Intute is a newer, but fast growing collection of reviewed web sites appropriate for teaching and research, developed under the auspices of a consortium of UK universities. The scope is inclusive of the range of academic disciplines. (See for example a search on "urban forestry.")
- National Library for the Environment (See for example, the "state of the environment" reports.)
- Academic Info - see e.g., Atmospheric Sciences, Biodiversity, Environmental Science could be useful for the numerous data and statistical sources to which it leads.
- Science Topics from the USGS (United States Geological Survey)
The USGS serves the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.
Examples of more specialized library guides to resources in environmental research
Other Research Tools
- Credo Reference
A conglomeration of specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias that allows you to search for definitions and encyclopedia articles, as well as develop ideas for expanding or refining a research strategy.
- Oxford Reference Premium Online
Oxford University Press produces a number of extremely useful reference materials, many of which they have made available here. You can search by keyword, but you can also choose particular subjects and from there, particular books within which to search. This willl provide you with all sorts of background and broad spectrum information on a particular topic.
- Biography Resource Center
Find background information about people, authors, famous personalities, and others. Search by first or last name.
- See the Environmental Science Resource Grid for a review of various kinds of information resources and sample tools used to gather the respective kind of resource.
Citation Help
One of the least favorite aspects of research papers are the citations, documenting the sources where you gleaned your information. To make that a little easier, the Library offers a few resources.
- Scientific style and format: the CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers
Ref 808.066 Sci27C 2007
- The Citation Style Guide is a place where you can find call numbers for print Style Manuals and Handbooks, as well as online help from several different universities around the States. Check it out and see if it helps!
- RefWorks
is a Citation Management program. Fully available online, and linked from the Library's home page, it allows you to keep it all ELECTRONIC. Download your citations from the various databases you're using into RefWorks. This program will create the Works Cited page for you with little effort. In a database, look for the option to EXPORT - that is where you'll find this gem of a program.
- Automatically Generated Citations can be found in our Library Catalog (to the right of the item on the Results page), as well as in most EBSCO databases (like Academic Search Premier, PsycINFO, Communications and Mass Media Complete, etc.). Most databases either provide an instant citation in a couple of different styles, or they allow Exporting to RefWorks (see above). Ask a Librarian for more help in managing your citations and creating your bibliographies and works cited pages faster.
- WorldCat.org
"Cite this item" within individual item record lists the citation in APA, MLA, Chicago and more.
- The Writing Center is also a solid resource. Available in the Library, this is run by the English department. If you'd like face-to-face help individually with citing or any aspect of writing and editing your paper, the Writing Center is the place to go. For more information, see their page on the Portal, or you can contact them at writingctr@taylor.edu.
For questions about this guide or for personal research assistance in Environmental Science, contact: Dan Bowell, University Librarian, (dnbowell@taylor.edu), x85241. Or, contact any librarian via Ask-A-Librarian.
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