Why background?
Background sources (encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, manuals, etc.) provide summary and factual information. They generally contain well established knowledge and can provide a basic understanding on which to build. Use background sources to:
- find basic concepts and viewpoints of topic
- get the historical context and relationships to other topics
- identify and define special terms used to discuss the topics
- find or verify data, facts, formulas, etc.
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Encyclopedias
Access Science
AccessScience is the online version of the latest edition of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology with access to all the articles, fully illustrated. In addition, it includes new trends and developments in science and technology from the McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology volumes, and definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms. AccessScience also includes biographies of scientists, Nobel Prize winners in all fields for all years, headlines from the journal Science News, and links to related web sites.
Oxford Companion to the Earth
Call Number: Reference QE5 .O94 2000
Offers concise explanations of earth phenomena and processes, with over 800 entries written by 200 experts. Includes more than 600 black-and-white illustrations. Appendixes include the usual geological time scales, a very brief table of solar system facts, a periodic table, and scientific units, conversion tables, and abbreviations.
Encyclopedia of Ethics (3 vols.)
Call Number: Reference BJ63 .E45 2001
Scope: coverage of ethical theory as pursued among English-speaking philosophers
International Encyclopedia of Environmental Politics
Call Number: Reference GE170 .I55 2002
"Coverage includes: country and regional entries, with country entries giving a concise overview of the history, main actors, issues and policies related to its environmental politics; normative and ethical dimensions of environmental politics, from animal rights, social and global justice to deep ecology; environmental movements, organizations, struggles and individual participants from local to international levels; issues in international environmental politics such as global warming, biodiversity, trade and the environment; prominent individuals (historical and current) who have inspired or been actively involved in international environmental politics; and central topics and issues in environmental politics - such as globalization, wildlife preservation, eco-taxes, energy production and consumption, sustainable development and the World Trade Organization."
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Call Number: Reference B51 .R68 1998 (10 vol.)
Includes over 2000 original articles from over 1300 experts in philosophy and has 25,000 hot-linked cross-references between articles.
Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change
Call Number: Reference GE149 .E49 2002 (5 vol.)
**Vol. 1: The Earth System: Physical and Chemical Dimensions of Global Environmental Change **Vol. 2: The Earth System: Biological and Ecological Dimensions of Global Environmental Change **Vol. 3: Causes and Consequences of Global Environmental Change **Vol. 4: Responding to Global Environmental Change **Vol. 5: Social and Economic Dimensions of Global Environmental Change
Dictionaries
A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation
Call Number: Reference GE10 .P375 2007
This dictionary contains over 8,000 entries on all aspects of the environment and conservation. Coverage is uniquely inter-disciplinary. As well as scientific aspects, it also covers social dimensions such as international treaties, movements, trusts, and organizations
The Facts on File Dictionary of Environmental Science
Call Number: Reference TD9 .S74 2007
This 3rd edition contains more than 5,000 cross-referenced entries, reflecting the breadth of the field, which includes agriculture, biology, chemistry, engineering, geology, government, law, medicine, microbiology, and toxicology. There are entries on people who are importan to environmental management, locations of notable environmental episodes, organizations, and governmental agencies and programs.
Other Reference Books
One Planet, Many People: Atlas of Our Changing Environment - United Nations Environment Programme
Call Number: Reference GE149 .O53 2005
Through a combination of ground photographs, current and historical satellite images, and narrative based on extensive scientific evidence, this publication illustrates how humans have altered their surroundings and continue to make observable and measurable changes to the global environment.
The Wellbeing of Nations: A Country-by-Country Index of Quality of Life and the Environment
Call Number: Reference GE140 .P74 2001
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