Guide to Resources for Biology

Reference Books

Printed reference books

Dictionaries of biology are found under 570.3 in the Dewey Decimal Classification.

Biology encyclopedias of various descriptions are in the reference section of the library between the numbers 570 and 599; to look for encyclopedias on specific subjects in biology, see Finding Encyclopedias on Specialized Subjects.

Other types of references found in the library include species identification guides (search in the library catalog under plants AND identifcation, birds AND identification, and so on); manuals, and species lists.

Some electronic books for reference

Oxford Reference Online has reference books in biology. You can search the entire collection, or scroll down to Subject Reference: Biological Sciences to browse.

To access these books from off campus you will need you My Chemeketa user name and six-digit password.

To access these books from off campus you will need your My Chemeketa user name and six-digit password (see netLibrary access).

Finding other books and and audiovisual materials

Use the library catalog to look for additional materials. The Chemeketa catalog page includes instructions on using the catalog and on requesting materials through the catalog. There are also links to other library catalogs. You can search by key words, by authors, or by subject headings. A suggestion on where to find subject headings to use in the catalog is given below.

The Library of Congress has a Web site where you can search for subject headings. When you put in a search term, the results will list terms in a table. Those with a red button marked, "Authorized and references" are terms that the Library of Congress uses in subject catalogs. Clicking the button may show more specific ("narrower") terms.

Fig. 1. The catalog search

You may have to do several searches to find books that might be pertinent to your subject.

If you live in the Chemeketa Cooperative Regional Library Service (CCRLS) district, you may also access the catalog online at your local public library. In addition to the books in the Chemeketa College Library, the catalog also contains the collections of the 17 public libraries located in the regional library district, and can pass your search through to Summit (see below).

Summit

Chemeketa students may use Summit, the Orbis Cascade Alliance catalog to request items from 34 member libraries in Oregon and Washington. Authorized users have access to all of the material in the Chemeketa Community College library, plus about 28 million items in Summit. Users may request items using their student number and choose the Summit pickup location that is most convenient from among 46 pickup locations in Oregon and Washington.

Summit: http://summit.orbiscascade.org/
About Summit Borrowing: http://summit.orbiscascade.org/screens/borrow.html
Libraries & Map: http://orbiscascade.org/map/
Visiting Other Libraries: http://www.orbiscascade.org/VP_info_page.htm

Databases & Indexes

All the databases listed in this section may be accessed by going to the library's Database Page. If you are accessing the databases from a location other than Chemeketa Community College, remember to click the link marked, "Off-campus users."

Journal Databases

Academic Search Premier [EBSCOhost]: The best place to start. Has journals in all the sciencse.
Business Source Premier [EBSCOhost]: May seem a surprising place to find articles on biology, but there are many articles on biology as applied science.
MEDLINE [EBSCOhost]: The world's largest database of medicine-related abstracts, produced by the National Library of Medicine; includes many journals in biological sciences. [Note: For OLDMEDLINE citations (1951-1965), see MEDLINE on the supplementary database page.]
ScienceDirect: Over 900 full-text, academic journals in the health and life sciences. Journals available in the collection are shown with a green icon (), indicating full text.
Supplementary database page: Includes numerous databases in the biological sciences.

Special Guides

Finding Environmental Information: Includes valuable advice on what kind of sources instructors like you to use.
Finding Information on Positive or Neutral Aspects of Population Growth: It is easy to find literature predicting evil consequences to rapid population growth, but much more difficult to find literature supporting the opposite conclusion. Here are some ways to find "pro" arguments on the topic. There is also a lengthy list of sources.
Finding Information on Negative Aspects of Population Growth: This page is intended to supplement the BI131 instructional handout listing materials with a "anti" position on population growth. There is a lengthy list of sources.
Finding Information on Salmon: A very extensive guide to information on salmon, with emphasis on chinook and coho salmon
Willamette River: Guide to information on the Willamette River.

Internet Sites

See Useful Sites for Biology.

Library Home Page | Chemeketa Community College | Search Library Web Site

Updated 15 April 2008 by Library Reference

Guide to Resources for Biology

Summit

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