Geosciences 

Thinking of words

. . . using dictionaries, thesauruses, quotations

Chambers Earth Sciences Dictionary (Science Reference QE5 .C46 1991)

Columbia Gazetteer of the World (Reference G103.5 .C65 1998)

Dictionary of Earth Science

Geological Dictionary [English-Polish-Russian-French-German] (Science Reference QE5 .Z9 1970)

GeoRef Thesaurus (Science Reference QE75. B92 2000)

Glossary of Geology (Science Reference QE5 .G37 1972)

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Earth Science (Science Reference QE5 .M364 2003)

Gaining an Overview

. . . using encyclopedias, guides, handbooks, textbooks, yearbooks

Atlas of Historical County Boundaries: Indiana (Reference G1201.F7 A8 1996 IND)

Atlas of Micromorphology of Mineral Alteration and Weathering (Science Reference QE570 .D448 1998)

Complete Dinosaur (QE862.D5 C697 1997)

Encyclopedia of Climate and Weather, 2 vols. (Science Reference QC854 .E523 1996)

Encyclopedia of Geochemistry (Science Reference QE515 .E48 1999)

Encyclopedia of Paleontology (Science Reference QE703 .E523 1999)

Encyclopedia of the Solar System (Science Reference QB501 .E52 1997)

Encyclopedia of Applied Geology (Science Reference QE5 .E5 1984)

Encyclopedia of Geotechnics (Science Reference TA706 .S65 1983)

Encyclopedia of Sedimentology (Science Reference QE461 .E49 1978)

Guide to the Literature of Astronomy (Science Reference Z5151 .S4 1977)

Handbook of Physical Properties of Rocks (Science Reference QE431.6.P5 H36 1982)

Information Sources in the Earth Sciences, 2nd ed. (Science Reference QE26.2 .I55 1989)

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of the Geological Sciences (Science Reference QE5 .M29 1978)

NASA Atlas of the Solar System (Science Reference Atlas Stand G1000 .G7 1997)

Oxford Companion to the Earth (Science Reference QE5 .O94)

Oxford Atlas of the World (Science Reference Atlas Stand G1021 .A7545 1992)

Sciences of the Earth: An Encyclopedia of Events, People, and Phenomena, 2 vols. (Science Reference QE11 .S38 1998)

Weather Handbook (Science Reference QC982.5 .C6)

Finding current information

. . . using databases & indexes, alerting services (some may require free registration), journals to browse

Academic Search Premier -

Coverage: Indexing coverage varies, with full-text content for some titles beginning 1975 or earlier, and most titles indexed from the 1990s. Brief Description: Provides abstracts and indexing of articles in more than 8,000 popular magazines, scholarly journals, and major newspapers in all fields of study, with nearly 4,000 titles available full text. Tools Available: A complete list of titles covered is available.

General Science Index -

Call Number: Science Reference Z7401 .G4 Coverage: 1978 to 1995 Brief Description: Provides indexing for 150 leading English-language journals in the fields of science, health science, nutrition, environment, and computer science. Other IPFW Formats: IPFW library owns the printed index 1978-1995

GeoRef -

Call Number: Science Reference Z6031 .B5 Coverage: North America since 1693, and other world areas since 1933 Brief Description: Produced by the American Geological Institute, GeoRef provides more than 2.8 million bibliographic references with abstracts, in 40 languages. Other IPFW Formats: IPFW library owns the printed Bibliography and Index of Geology Exclusive of North America 1933-1948, 1950-1968, and Bibliography and Index of Geology 1970-1991 Tools Available: An online list of journals indexed is available. A Guide to Discovery is available.

Browsing journals

. . . in your subject area

Print journals in geosciences (with call numbers in the QEs) are available on the fourth floor of Helmke Library.  Hundreds of electronic journals in geosciences are available via Helmke Library's homepage at E-Journal Finder.  Both print and electronic journals are accessible via IUCAT Catalog (Indiana University's online library catalog). The following list of periodical titles is a selection of the current titles on subscription at Helmke Library.

An information-foraging search tip:  Use this list to browse the periodicals shelves to find an article of interest.  Use a database or index to locate articles on a specific topic in these periodicals.  Use the IU-Link button that appears in the list of search results to discover if Helmke Library owns the periodical in print or electronic format.  If not, use Document Delivery Services to request the article.

AAPG Bulletin (Periodicals TN860 .A3)

Abstracts with Programs / Geological Society of America (Periodicals QE1 .G19)

American Mineralogist (Periodicals QE351 .A7)

Annals of the Association of American Geographers (Periodicals G3 .A7)

Astronomy (Periodicals QB1 .A7998)

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (Periodicals QE531 .S3)

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (Periodicals QE1 .C17)

Economic Geology and the Bulletin of the Society of Economic Geologists (Periodicals QE1 .E15)

EOS (Periodicals QE500 .A6)

Geological Society of America Bulletin (Periodicals QE1 .G28)

Geology (Periodicals QE1 .G528)

Geophysics (Periodicals QE500 .G4)

Geotimes (Periodicals QE1 .G56)

GSA Today: A Publication of the Geological Society of America (Periodicals QE1 .G2792)

Journal of Geology (Periodicals QE1 .J8)

Journal of Geoscience Education (Periodicals QE40 .J6)

Journal of Paleontology (Periodicals QE701 .J6)

Journal of Petrology (Periodicals QE120 .J68)

Journal of Sedimentary Research (Periodicals QE420 .J844)

Lethaia (Periodicals QE701 .L5)

Limnology and Oceanography (Periodicals GC1 .L5)

Lethaia  (Periodicals QE701 .L5)

Limnology and Oceanography (Periodicals GC1 .L5)

Palaeontology (Periodicals QE701 .P15)

Palaios (Periodicals QE701 .P534)

Paleobiology (Periodicals QE701 .P17)

Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interior (Periodicals QE500 .P52)

Progress in Physical Geography (Periodicals G1 .P886)

Remote Sensing of Environment (Periodicals QE33 .R44)

Reviews of Geophysics (Periodicals QC801 .R45)

Sedimentology (Periodicals QE471 .S424)

Sky and Telescope (Periodicals QB1 .S536)

Discovering books

. . . using library catalogs, bibliographies

IUCAT Catalog (Indiana University's online library catalog) -

Brief Description: Search Helmke Library's online catalog to find books, electronic resources, periodicals (scholarly journals, popular magazines, or newspapers), government publications, music CDs, videorecordings (DVDs, VHS), and other library materials. Tools Available: Searching IUCAT Tutorial How Do I Use IUCAT Guides

WorldCat -

Brief Description: Provides access to the OCLC database with more than 1 billion bibliographic records for materials in all formats. Tools Available: Online tutorials are available.

Checking facts

. . . using almanacs, statistics

Astronomical Almanac for the Year (Government Publications D213 .8:1997-2001)

Geologic Time Scale 1989 (Science Reference QE508 .G3956 1990)

New York Times . . . Almanac (Service Desk AY67.N5 N48)

Statistical Abstract of the United States (Service Desk C 3.134)

Weather Almanac, 8th ed. (Science Reference QC983 .W38 1998)

Seeking people & organizations

. . . using biographies, directories, cited/co-cited author indexes

American Geophysical Union

American Men and Women of Science, 19th ed., 1995 (Science Reference Q141 .A471)

Biography Resource Center -

Coverage: Current and retrospective reference sources Brief Description: Provides biographical information on more than 275,000 people from throughout history and around the world, across all disciplines and subject areas. Tools Available: An online list of sources indexed is available. An online research guide and  search tips are also available.

Directory of Geoscience Departments (Science Reference QE47 .A1 D57 1999-2000)

Environmentalists: A Biographical Dictionary From the 17th Century to the Present (Science Reference S926.A2 A94 1993)

Geological Society of America

Geologists and the History of Geology: An International Bibliography from the Origins to 1978, 5 vols. (Science Reference Z6031 .S28 1988)

Science Citation Index, 1970-1991; see science librarian (Reference Z7401 .S365)

Encountering facts & opinions

. . . using reviews, editorials

Book Review Index (Reference Z1035.A1 B6)

Editorials on File (Reference D839 .E3, latest at Service Desk)

Facts on File (Reference D410 .F3, latest at Service Desk)

Using writing & editing tools

. . . using style guides, guidelines for authors

A variety of style guides are on reserve at the Service Desk on the first floor. These tools help you organize and write your paper, and format in-text references and bibliography lists.  For more information, also see our Style Guides and Writing Guides subject pathfinders.

Citing style tends to be journal-specific in geosciences and related fields.  Check the cited references in the key periodicals for illustrations of how to format bibliographic references.

Crossing boundaries

. . . using subject headings, call numbers, syndetic structure

Library of Congress Classification Outline for Schedule Q: Science (PDF)