Library Guides: Biology 20

Brad Goodbar, Instructor
Developed by Gina Haycock, Librarian
March 31, 2008

REFERENCE BOOKS:  Located on the first floor of the library behind the Reference Desk.  These books must remain in the library. Reference books include dictionaries, almanacs and encyclopedias. Specialized or subject encyclopedias (concentrating on a particular subject instead of covering all knowledge) are excellent starting points for research. They are focused on a particular topic, cover the major concepts of the topic, are written by experts in the field, and often have bibliographies or other references. Examples of Reference books in the COS library are as follows:

The Environment A to Z        #R363.7 H825
Global Warming in the 21st Century    #R363.73874 J65
Scientific American Science Desk Reference        #R500 S416
McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology        #R503 M147
Encyclopedia of Water        #R553.703 N562
An A to Z of DNA Science        #R576.503 W823
Rainforests of the World        #R577.36 G285
Encyclopedia of Rainforests        #R578.734 J93
World Atlas of Coral Reefs        #R577.789 S734
New Encyclopedia of Aquatic Life        #R591.92 N532
Human Genome Sourcebook        #R611.0181663 A 176

Online Reference Books:
Gale Virtual Reference Library - Gale provides access to 200 reference books. All the books are full-text and cover a wide variety of topics including art, science, literature and much more. All 200 titles can be searched simultaneously or individual titles may be selected. (Cost $20,000)

CIRCULATING BOOKS: Located on the second floor of the library. Our newest books are, for the most part, in the areas of science and social issues, and current topics, because we try to build the collection to the type of assignments given to students.   
Some subject headings/key words that  you might use in the COS book catalog  and/or the electronic resources (periodical indexes) are as follows:

Online Books:

PERIODICAL INDEXES:

ALSO, through the Electronic Resources link, http://cos.edu/library/electronic.htm, on the COS Library’s Web Site, there are links to the electronic index subscription databases that the library makes available to COS students. Many of these indexes offer full-text articles, which means the entire article will be available even if the library doesn't subscribe to the periodical itself. If a student is off campus, passwords are necessary to access these databases. Passwords are available for COS students at the COS Library Information Desk or by calling the Library at (559) 737-6179.

InfoTrac  is a periodical index database that works well when using a subject search. When entering a subject search, you can use broad terms, because the index will automatically help to narrow the search. This index is not completely full-text.

 Academic Abstracts is a periodical index database that works well when using a key-word search. When entering a key-word search, you need to use precise words and the more words you add, the narrower the search becomes. This index is not completely full-text.

DATABASES FOR CONTEMPORARY ISSUES:    (These two databases are full-text)

CQ Researcher - Your complete source on the most current and controversial issues of the day with complete summaries, all the pros and cons, bibliographies and more. (Annual Cost $523)

SIRS (Social Issues Research Series) - SIRS contains all full-text articles from a variety of newspaper and magazines covering current social issues.  (Annual Cost $1440)

DATABASES and SEARCH ENGINES FOR A COMBINATION OF SOURCE TYPES:

Student Research Center - This site provides access to the Columbia Encyclopedia as well as government reports, magazines, news transcripts, Primary Source Documents and more. (Subscription database - password is required).

Infomine is a scholarly Internet resource collection ( an Internet Search Directory) developed and supported by UC Riverside.

Google Scholar is another possible search tool. This search tool indexes books, peer-reviewed papers, theses, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, and universities; however, full-text of the source is often unavailable online.

SPECIALIZED SEARCH ENGINES:

Scirus - for scientific information only. Responding to the need for focused, comprehensive and reliable overviews of relevant scientific information, Elsevier Science has developed the powerful Internet search tool Scirus. Scirus distinguishes itself from existing search engines by concentrating on scientific content only and by searching both web and journal sources. It enables scientists, students and anyone searching for scientific information to chart and pinpoint data, locate university sites, and find reports and articles in a clutter-free, user-friendly and efficient manner.

WEB SITES:

• The Electronic Zoo - http://netvet.wustl.edu/ssi.htm
• California Environmental Protection Agency- http://www.calepa.ca.gov/
• CRS Reports from CNIE - http://www.cnie.org/nle/crs_intr.html - The Congressional Research Service (CRS),  part of the Library of Congress, prepares its reports for the U.S. Congress. CRS products undergo review for accuracy and objectivity and contain non-technical information that can be very useful to people interested in environmental quality (such as air pollution, waste management and water quality) and natural resources (such as agriculture and grazing, biodiversity, energy and forestry).
• Environmental Health News http://www1.environmentalhealthnews.org/archives.jsp?todaycount=13&date=1 - Published daily by a non-profit organization founded to increase public understanding of emerging scientific links between environmental exposure and human health.
• National Institute of Environmental Health Science News  - http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/releases/
• EPA Guide to Environmental Issues  -http://es.epa.gov/oeca/guide/contents.htm - Covers such topics as surface and ground water, pesticides, hazardous  and solid waste, public health, public safety, health and environmental risks, enforcement and major environmental laws.  
• MedlinePlus Health Information from the National Library of Medicine - MedlinePlus will direct you to information to help answer health questions. MedlinePlus brings together authoritative information from NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations. Preformulated MEDLINE searches are included in MedlinePlus and give easy access to medical journal articles. MedlinePlus also has extensive information about drugs, an illustrated medical encyclopedia, interactive patient tutorials, and latest health news.
• National Cancer Institute   http://www.cancer.gov
• Popular Topics on the Environment and the Natural World from Naerctica http://www.nearctica.com/popular.htm This site provides links to a number of topics such as butterflies, biomes, global warming, ozone depletion, and zoos.
•  ScienceDaily Magazine; Your Link to Latest Research News   http://www.sciencedaily.com/
• Student Guide to the Human Genome Project
• The Tree of Life Phylogeny - http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html - The Tree of Life is a project containing information about the diversity of organisms on Earth, their history, and characteristics. The information is linked together in the form of the evolutionary tree that connects all organisms to each other.  The web pages are linked one to another in the form of the evolutionary tree of organisms, with the pages branching off from a group's page being about subgroups.   For example, the links from the page on frogs leads one to pages on individual families of frogs, and eventually up to some individual species of frogs.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Endangered Species Programs - http://www.fws.gov/endangered/
• WebMD News Center - A good source developed to keep physicians current in the every changing field of medicine.  A wealth of information on diseases and treatment.

SEARCHING FOR IMAGES ON THE INTERNET: