QE 1 to QE 996.5 is the Library of Congress call number range for topics in Geology. The following chart lists the subject grouping of how books and journals are arranged. The ‘book stacks' and ‘bound journals' are located on the 3 rd floor of the SEL.

Books by Title
If the title of a book is known, a quick search can be made in BISON from the libraries main webpage by selecting “title begins with…” (omit ‘a', ‘an' or ‘the').

Example: The volcano adventure guide
Type: volcano adventure

Subjects by Format
Select BISON's full catalog connection, then click ‘advanced search'. Change dropdown from ‘all fields' to ‘subject keywords' and the format box to ‘maps' (or books, visual etc)

Example: for geologic maps of the moon
Subject keywords: lunar geology
Format: maps

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Journals by Title - Print and Online
Access to Geology journals can be available through print, e-only or both. To determine if we receive a particular journal, you can search by title in the BISON catalog by selecting the journal/serials tab, then set search type to “title begins with”.

Example: The Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
Type: journal of volcanology

The results will show two entries:
Print journal available for the years 1976-2004 (via 3 rd floor SEL)
E-only journal available for the years 2005+ (via ScienceDirect)

E - Journals by Title
To search for e-journals you need to search both the BISON (see above) and the Electronic Journals databases. From the libraries' main page under “Quick Links” (left-hand column) select ‘ Electronic Journals' which will generate an A-Z list for journal title browsing. However, this generated list will only show journals titles which produce full text articles; it is wise to double-check any journal titles in the BISON catalog for journals that may have abstracts or partial full-text articles.

E - Journals by Subject
From the above link ‘Electronic Journals' you also have the menu option of ‘ Browse by Subject Headings' where you can select from the dropdown list “ Earth and Environmental Sciences .” A list of Earth Science journals will be available by topic with direct links to their online access.

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Bibliographic databases index items from a variety of resources and contain searchable information from numerous journals, magazines, conferences, books, associations and newspaper citations. Databases vary amongst each other and may offer full-text or partial full-text articles, abstracts and citations. Some databases are subject-specific while others may index a broad spectrum of topics.

From the libraries' main page, select Databases by Title (right-hand column) for a complete A – Z list of databases and direct access to their links.

For Geoscience articles try these top picks:

• GeoRef (citation index)
• GeoBase (citation index)
• ScienceDirect (full-text)
• JSTOR (full-text)
• Wiley Online Library(full-text)
• Web of Science (partial full-text)
• IngentaConnect (partial full-text)

These titles plus many more geology resources are listed on the

Geology – Resources by Subject Guide
http://libweb1.lib.buffalo.edu/infotree/resourcesbysubject.asp?subject=Geology

From the libraries main webpage, click ‘ Resources by Subject ' under Quick Links (left-hand column), then select Geology.

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University Libraries Map Collection Home Page
http://library.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/maps/map_room.html
Map Librarian – Dave Bertuca, office - 225 Capen Hall, dbertuca@buffalo.edu

GIS - ESRI Virtual Campus Courses & UB Student Registration
http://library.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/gis/GIS-training.html

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Critically evaluating resources is an essential step in the research process. In order to effectively evaluate articles, it is necessary to differentiate between scholarly journals and non-scholarly journals.

Generally, articles relating to the subject of Geology fall within two main types of periodicals: (1) scholarly and research journals, and (2) popular, news and general interest magazines. The following chart will assist researches in determining the difference between these two types of resources.

Some Important Web Facts

•  Any person or organization can publish information on the Web
•  Web pages are not organized
•  Most books and scholarly periodicals have been edited and evaluated by their publishers, while Web pages are not evaluated by the search engines which index them. Even subject directories which have been "organized" into categories by people, are rarely critically evaluated for content
•  Web sources can change on a day to day basis, adhering to a "Here today, gone tomorrow" concept

Basic Web Evaluation Techniques

• Always check to see if the web site has a discernable author. Unlike books and periodicals Web sites often do not list the creator of the pages. If you come across a Web page that has information about your topic but does not have an author, it is highly recommended that it not be used as a source for your assignment.
• Pay close attention to the URL and domain name of a Web site. The URL or Uniform Resource Locator is the "address" of the Web site, while the domain name ( .com, .gov, etc..) is used in the URL to identify the source or purpose of the Web site. For example:

  .gov - Government agencies
  .edu - Educational institutions
  .org - Organizations (nonprofit)
  .mil - Military
  .com - Commercial business
  .net - Network organizations

  It is recommended that you avoid using .com sites for scholarly research and instead try to stick sites with .edu, .gov, and .org domains.

  When browsing .edu sites pay attention to Web pages with the ~ (tilde) after the .edu ; this is a usually an indication that it is an individual homepage of a student or faculty member of a university.

For example: www.buffalo.edu/~smith

• Be sure to check the date of the last time the Web page was modified.
  If you are unable to find any date for the page, it is highly recommended that it not be used as a cited source for your assignment

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