PSU Library -- Subject Resource Guide -- Environmental Science

Environmental Science

Subject Resource Guide for Environmental Science

Sections of this guide:

Encyclopedias

Provide excellent background/overview information. An excellent place to begin research. Contain articles written by experts for a general audience. Provide indexes indicating scope of coverage of a topic and pinpointing articles in which a concept will be discussed. Provide bibliographies for further reading.

	Conservation and Environmentalism : an Encyclopedia (GE10 .C68)
	Encyclopedia of Hydrology and Water Resources (GB655 .E53)
	Encyclopedia of Ecology and Environmental Management (GE300 .E53)
	McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Environmental Science & Engineering (GE10 .M38)
	Environmental Encyclopedia (GE10 .E57)

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Reference Books

Handbooks, dictionaries, statistical sources, tables; detailed or procedural information specific to the subject areas addressed.

Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. 20th ed. (QD142 .A5 1998)

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Databases and Indexes

Magazine, periodical and journal articles provide information on current developments, research trends, experiments and hot topics in a discipline. For every discipline, there are specific databases or indexes that provide article level information. Once articles are identified through the database or index search, look up the source journal in Vikat, PSU Library's online catalog, to locate them in the library. For a complete list of online databases and indexes, see the Library's Online Databases pages.

	Ebscohost: Academic Search Premier For lower division students, Ebscohost is a great choice. Most environmental topics are 'hot' enough that there is plenty of literature out there and if comprehensive searching is not needed, this one does the trick.
	Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management Consists of thirteen databases relating to environment and pollution. These include "Ecology Abstracts,""Pollution Abstracts,""Water Resource Abstracts," and others in toxicology, health and safety, and risk analysis. Coverage: 1980 - updated daily
	Agricola A database complied by the U.S. National Agriculture Library providing citations and abstracts for journal articles, chapters, reports, books, and audiovisual material. The records describe publications and resources encompassing all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines, including animal and veterinary sciences, entomology, plant sciences, forestry, aquaculture and fisheries, farming and farming systems, agricultural economics,extension and education, food and human nutrition, and earth and environmental sciences." Coverage: "Production of these records in electronic form began in 1970, but the database covers materials in all formats, including printed works from the 15th century."
	Geobase Provides citations to journals, books, monographs, conference proceedings, and reports. Subject coverage includes: cartography, climatology, energy, environment, geochemistry, geophysics, geomorphology, human geography, hydrology, meteorology, paleontology, petrology, photogrammetry, sedimentology, volcanology. Coverage: 1980 - the present

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Online Full Text Journals

Many, but by no means ALL, of the journals of interest in environmental sciences are available online. Most of the journals require authentication for off campus use.

Environmnetal science journals online

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Important Resources

These sources don't fit into any particular category, but are important for the discipline.

Forest Service Index

A card index of Forest Service technical publications. Use this for pre-1976 publications (1976 on is in Vikat).

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Call Numbers

Browsing the library shelves by call number ranges is another strategy for locating information on a topic; call numbers can help you get to the "right neighborhood" in the library stacks.

GB 650-3000 - Hydrology

GE - Environmental Science - this is a fairly new classification so only recent works are classified here

GF - Human ecology - human/environment relationship

QC 851-999 - climatology

QH 75-78 - Biology, also general ecology, nature conservation
QH 541.5 - biology / ecology by environment

TD - Environmental Technology, Sanitation Engineering.
Includes environmental protection and pollution

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Organizations

Often the best way to find information on a topic is to look for material published by a professional society or an organization.

There are countless environmental organizations and virtually all have websites. Most of these are 'guessable' from their name or acronym (examples: http://www.sierraclub.org, http://www.nrdc.org). Be sure to explain to students that strong bias will be present.

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Web Resources

	Environment RouteNet is an encyclopedic reference guide to environmental related resources on the Internet. There are links to daily news, patents and standards, grants, legislation, etc. Access to this is via the library databases page.
	Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Good for finding out about projects around Oregon.
	Environmental Protection Agency The 'your community' feature is helpful for gathering local environmental information.
	United States Geological Survey Very information rich site, covers geology and biology.
	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association Good for climate, weather, and marine information.

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Page developed by:
Gretta Siegel
Please send comments to:
Gretta Siegel

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