Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery

Subject Guides - Geography & Environmental Systems

Article Databases

• Biological Abstracts

  Indexes/abstracts 5,000+ journals in the biological sciences.

• Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management

  Provides comprehensive coverage of the environmental sciences. Abstracts and citations are drawn from over 4000 scientific journals and thousands of other sources including conference proceedings, reports, monographs, books and government publications.

• Toxline

  Indexes/abstracts all areas of toxicology, including chemicals and pharmaceuticals, pesticides, environmental pollutants, and mutagens and teratogens. This version does not contain information from CAS, BIOSIS, or International Pharmaceutical Abstracts.

• Web of Science

  The Web of Science includes Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index and Arts & Humanities Citation Index. Covers approximately 8,700 high impact research journals and provides access to cited and citing references. Additional searchable resources on the Web of Knowledge homepage (select from dropdown menu).

General & Multidisciplinary Databases

Use these to find popular and scholarly articles, conference papers, and dissertations on your topic.

• Academic Search Premier (Ebsco)

  Provides full-text for over 3,400 scholarly journals covering the social sciences, humanities, education, sciences, and more. Funded by the Maryland Digital Library (MDL).

• ArticleFirst

  Indexes journals in science, technology, medicine, social science, business, the humanities, and popular culture.

• Conference Papers Index

  Provides citations to papers and poster sessions presented at major scientific meetings around the world. Emphasis since 1995 has been in the life sciences, environmental sciences and the aquatic sciences, while older material also covers physics, engineering and materials science.

• Dissertation Abstracts (Proquest Digital Dissertations)

  Indexes U.S., Canadian, British, and other European dissertations and theses; dissertations abstracted since 1980, theses abstracted since 1988. Full Dissertations published since 1997 (1991 from UMBC) are available in PDF digital format.

• MasterFILE Premier (Ebsco)

  Indexes 3,100+ magazines covering general subjects. Includes full-text for over 1,000 journals.

e-Journals

These collections of journals are full-text. See Also: E-Journals in Social Sciences

• Electronic Collections Online (ECO)

  Over 100 searchable, full-text journals in many different fields.

• JSTOR

  Electronic archive of selected core journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Includes full-text of all articles published prior to the most current five years. UMBC subscribes to Arts & Science I, II, III, General Science, Ecology & Botany.

• Project Muse

  Searchable full-text of select journals in the humanities and social sciences. UMBC subscribes to its Basic Undergraduate Collection.

TOC Alerts and Document Delivery

Use these resources to search and order technical reports and journal articles. Don't forget InterLibrary Loan.

• Infotrieve Gateway

  Indexes & abstracts more than 35,000 scholarly journals in medicine, biotechnology, science, engineering, law and more. Library-subsidized, electronic document delivery for faculty, staff and graduate students.

• ingenta

  Search or browse more than 20,000 publications from the UnCover, ingenta and CatchWord databases. Articles NOT OWNED by the Library may be ordered for online delivery by faculty, staff and graduate students. Includes TOC and search alert services.

Online Reference Tools

• Chemical Scorecard

  Search for manufacturing facilities, pollutants and polluters by zip code, regulatory controls, and health effects for hazardous materials in the US. Data from Toxic Release Inventory (TRI).

• GIS Dictionary

  Searchable glossary of about 1000 terms related to Geographic Information Systems.

• Global Gazetteer

  This is a directory of 2880532 of the world's cities and towns, sorted by country and linked to a map for each town. Provides data on latitude, longitude, altitude above sea-level, and weather.

• MapSearch

  Search for maps in the Albin O. Kuhn Library. Map cabinets are located in the back of the Reference Room and in Special Collections.

• National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII)

  The NBII links diverse, high-quality biological databases, information products, and analytical tools maintained by NBII partners and other contributors in government agencies, academic institutions, non-government organizations, and private industry.

• Science.gov

  Science.gov contains reliable government resources selected by the respective agencies as their best science information. Developed by an interagency working group of 17 scientific and technical information organizations from 12 major science agencies.

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries (Geography)

The following are a few of the Geography resources available in the Reference Collection. Please feel free to browse the Reference shelves in the G - GN section for other, valuable resources.

• Small, R. J. (Ronald John). A Modern Dictionary of Geography, 1995.

  [REF G63.S53 1995]
  Detailed definitions and explanations of over 2,000 terms used by modern geographers.

• Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, 2001.

  [REF G63.W67 2001]
  A practical guide to the geographic, historical, political, social & economic status of all nations, their international relationships, and the United Nations system.

• Rabchevsky, George A.. Multilingual Dictionary of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry , 1984.

  [REF G70.4.M84 1984]
  English definitions of over 1,700 terms commonly used in remote sensing and photogrammetry. Includes translations of terms in six languages.

• McDonnell, Rachael. International GIS dictionary, 1995.

  [REF G70.212.M33 1995]
  Definitions of terms as they are commonly used in GIS.

• Cohen, Saul Bernard. The Columbia Gazetteer of the World , 1998.

  [REF G103.5.C645 1998]
  Encyclopedia of geographic places and features. Entries include political divisions (states, provinces, capitals), the physical world (oceans, mountains, volcanoes), and special places (military bases, dams, national parks).

• Thomas, David S. G. . The Dictionary of Physical Geography, 2000.

  [REF GB10.D53 2000]
  Definitions of terms and explanations of key ideas, concepts, and issues in physical geography.

• Johnston, R. J. (Ronald John) . The Dictionary of Human Geography, 2000.

  [REF GF4.D52 2000]
  Definitions of terms and explanations of key ideas, concepts, and issues in human geography.

• Levinson, David. Encyclopedia of World Cultures , 1995.

  [REF GN307.E53 1995]
  Nine volume set describing cultures, both past and present, of every region of the world.

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries (Ecology & Environmental Sciences)

These are a few of the Ecology and Environmental Sciences reasources available in the Reference Collection. Please browse the Reference shelves in the GE and QH540 sections for other, valuable resources.

• Goudie, Andrew S. Encyclopedia of Global Change: Environmental Change and Human Society, 2002.

  [REF GE149.E47]
  Contains over 300 original, signed articles by scholars along with 1,500 illustrations that concentrate on both natural and man-made changes to the world's environment.

• Palmer, Clare. Environmental Ethics, 1997.

  [REF GE42.P35]
  Examines 20 environmental issues and presents biographical sketches of key individuals involved w/ those issues.

• Paehlke, Robert. Conservation and Environmentalism: An Encyclopedia, 1995.

  [REFGE10.C68]
  Over 500 multidisciplinary, signed articles encompassing global issues such as conservation efforts, studies of species, treaties, energy-use projects, biographies of individuals, governmental organizations, and environmental organizations.

• Collin, P. H. Dictionary of Ecology and Environment, 4th ed, 2001.

  [REF GE10.D52]
  Comprehensive dictionary of ecological and environmental terms.

• Porteous, Andrew. Dictionary of Environmental Science and Technology, 2nd ed, 1996.

  [REF GE10.P67]
  Contains more than 4000 entries related to environmental science, with illustrations, extensive cross-referencing, and international case studies.

• Calow, Peter. The Encyclopedia of Ecology & Environmental Management, 1998.

  [REF GE300.E53]
  A reference to the core definitions and issues associated with the multiplying subdisciplines of pure and applied ecology. Mixes dictionary-like short entries presenting details of specialized aspects, with encyclopedia-like long-essays that provide general overviews of broad subjects.

• Allaby, Michael. A dictionary of ecology, 1998.

  [REF QH540.4.C66 1998]

• Eldredge, Niles. Life on earth : an encyclopedia of biodiversity, ecology, and evolution , 2002.

  [REF QH541.15.B56L54 2002]

Maps and Atlases

Also try: MapSearch

• Hammond atlas of the 20th century, 1996.

  [REF G1021.H2662 1996]

• Groombridge, Brian. World atlas of biodiversity : Earth's living resources in the 21st century , 2002.

  [REF G1046.D1G76 2002]

• Spalding, Mark. World atlas of coral reefs, 2001.

  [REF G1046.L4S6 2001]

• The Economist atlas of the new Europe, 1992.

  [REF G1797.2.E2 1992]

Government Departments and Agencies

Governmental Websites are excellent sources for statistical information, bibliographies, research documents, and professional contacts.

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

• USGS (U.S. Geological Survey)

• NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

• National Park Service

• Maryland Department of Natural Resources

• Maryland Department of the Environment

• Maryland Geological Survey

• Maryland Water Monitoring Council

Professional Organizations

• Association of American Geographers (AAG)

  1710 16th St. NW
  Washington, DC 20009-3198
  Phone: (202) 234-1450
  Fax: (202) 234-2744
  Email: gaia@aag.org

• Ecological Society of America (ESA)

  1707 H St., NW, Ste. 400
  Washington, DC 20006
  Phone: (202) 833-8773
  Fax: (202) 833-8775
  Email: esahq@esa.org

• Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC)

  1010 N 12th Ave.
  Pensacola, FL 32501-3370
  Phone: (850) 469-1500
  Fax: (850) 469-9778
  Email: setac@setac.org

• American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM)

  6 Montgomery Village Ave., Ste .403
  Gaithersburg, MD 20879
  Phone: (240) 632-9716
  Fax: (240) 632-1321
  Email: info@acsm.net

• Water Environment Federation (WEF)

  601 Wythe St.
  Alexandria, VA 22314-1994
  Phone: (703) 684-2452
  Toll-Free: 800-666-0206
  Fax: (703) 684-2492
  Email: csc@wef.org

Related Organizations and Websites

• Maryland Geographic Alliance