Maintained by Kevin Connor, Reference Librarian & High School Instruction Coordinator
Compiled by Georgia Baugh, M.A.L.I.S., M.A., Electronic Resources Librarian and
Jamie Schmid, M.S.L.I.S., Reference Librarian
Updated December 19, 2007

This guide identifies basic science resources at Pius XII Memorial Library. The materials are located in the Reference Department on Level 1 of Pius XII Memorial Library or are available via the Web. The guide is not comprehensive; rather, it should be used as a starting point for research for high school students who are visiting Pius Library.
 

Basic Library Tour and Tutorial

Browsing Aid to Library of Congress Classification

How to Read Call Numbers in an Academic Library (University System of Georgia)
 

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The Reference Collection is located on the first floor in the reference room. To find science reference sources, browse call numbers that begin with Q for science topics found in general science encyclopedias and biographical works, QA for mathematics and computer science, QC for physics, QD for chemistry, and QH-QR for biology, botany, zoology, human anatomy, physiology, and microbiology encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks.

Gale Virtual Reference Library
This is a collection of over 400 reference books that are searchable together or title by title. Subjects covered include history, philosophy, religion, science, business, information & publishing, literature, law, medicine, education, technology, and biography.

Oxford Reference Online
There are currently over 180 reference titles available. Titles include many of the Oxford Companion to... series, subject dictionaries, foreign language dictionaries, and illustrations from the Visual English Dictionary. Another feature is timelines drawn from many of the sources.

Biographical Information

Gillispie, Charles Coulston, ed. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 18 vols. New York: Scribner, 1970-1990.
     Ref. Q141 .D5 (Vols. 1-18) (Volumes 1-16 also available in General Collection)

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To find books in the Library use the Saint Louis University Libraries Catalog (which includes the holdings of all SLU Libraries).
[You can access the Saint Louis University Libraries Catalog from anywhere.]

Location Information

Click on the SLU Pius link inthe LOCATION section of a book record to view a map and see where the book is located.
Note: SLU MCL = Medical Center Library. SLU Law = Omer Poos Law Library.

OR

Use this Location Guide to locate books in Pius Library. Fit your book's call number into the ranges on the guide to figure out which floor of the library to go to.

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Use library databases to find articles on your topic.
[You will only be able to access these databases from within Pius Library.]

Some databases include full text articles; others only include citations and you must find the journal in another library database or in print or microfilm in the Library.  Try searching the following databases:

Academic Search Premier
This multidisciplinary database provides indexing and abstracting for 8,040 journals with over 4,060 in full text.

Applied Science & Technology Full Text
Indexes more than 160 periodicals in the life sciences, physical sciences and technology, including mathematics. Has no built-in full-text, but does link out to electronic full-text when available.

Annual Reviews
Search the entire, full-text collection of 29 titles from 1996 or 1997 to present, or browse or search the topical collections: Biomedical Sciences, Physical Sciences, or Social Sciences.

LexisNexis Academic
Indexes news, business, and legal information. Most sources are full text. For news, click "Guided News Search" tab. In "Select a news category", choose General News. In "Select a news source", choose Major Papers.

Search additional General Science, Biology or Chemistry databases.

Location Information

As with books, the call number determines the location of periodical publications in the library. There are four possible locations for each periodical title.

• Browsing Area/Cafe Libros (Level 1) - most current issue of high-interest publications such as Time, Newsweek, New York Times, etc.
• Current Issues (Level 2) - current year of most periodical publications received by the library.
• Circulating Book Stacks (Lewis Annex plus Levels 2-5) - back issues of most periodicals are bound with a hard cover and shelved with the books by call number. Use the Location Guide to figure out which floor to go to.
• Microfilm (Level 2) - back issues of most weekly and daily periodical publications are kept on microfilm, as are some volumes of other periodicals.

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