Geographical sciences resources and support

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The core collection of geographical resources is located in the Geography Library but several other libraries in the system contain much of relevance:

• Earth Sciences - in the Wills Library
• Biology, ecology, etc - in the Biological Sciences Library
• Mathematics and computing - in the Queen's Library
• Disease studies - in the Medical and Social Medicine Libraries
• Human geography material including planning, housing, & urban geography - in the Arts and Social Sciences Library

• Bristol Naturalists Society Library
• Geological maps
• New books
• Course based materials
• Thesis collection
• Special collections

Bristol Naturalists Society Library

Can be used by staff and postgraduate students of the University. For details of holdings and access, please contact Barbara Costello.

Geological maps

Held in the Department of Earth Sciences. Contact Andrew Hook for further details.

New books

• A list of new books is distributed to academic staff and postgraduates at the beginning of each month.

Course based materials

A wide range of materials to support courses are available in the Library (ask at the Issue Desk):

• Recommended textbooks: in the Short Loan Collection (SLC) and, often, standard loan copies in the general collection (details are on the catalogue).
• Examination papers: sets of past examination papers (bound in years) are kept at the Issue Desk and are for use in the library only. Online copies are also available via Blackboard.

• Photocopied articles: these are not on the catalogue, and are referred to on reading lists only. Ask for them at the Issue Desk. They are confined to the Library.

• Student handbooks, dissertation guides, etc. Please ask at the Issue Desk for these.

Thesis collection

Further details of PhD, MSc and DSc theses of staff and students of the Department, are available in the thesis collection in the Geographial Sciences Library.

Special collections

The Eyles Collection of early geological books, journals and maps

Located in Special Collections at the Arts and Social Sciences Library. Formerly part of the library of Dr. V.A. and Mrs. J.M. Eyles, the collection was bequeathed to the University in 1986.

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• Quick search on the Library homepage
  search for books, journals, or articles and databases using our various search tools, plus Internet search using Google Scholar.
• The Subject resources section of these pages includes key geographical sciences databases (via MetaLib) for searching for journal articles references, etc, quick reference tools, Internet links, and reviews and bibliographies.
• Our Library collections and eResources pages give full advice on finding all types of materials.
• The Inter-Library Loans (ILL) service can be used to obtain Items not held in print in the University's branch libraries or available online. See below for more details. Access to other university libraries and the British Library may be a useful alternative.

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The Inter-Library Loans (ILL) service can be used to obtain Items not held in print in the University's branch libraries or available online. There is a charge for this service, though it may be possible to obtain an Inter-library loan voucher to pay for this:

• Geographical Sciences academic staff can obtain inter-library loan vouchers from the General Office in the department.
• Geographical Sciences research postgraduates may be able can obtain inter-library loan vouchers from the General Office in the department.
• Geographical Sciences undergraduates should contact their project supervisor or Geography Library staff for further information about obtaining items through the Inter-library loans Service.

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• Our Research support pages cover finding information, managing information, and exploiting your research, together with sources of further help and advice.
• Each academic department in the university has its own library representative, whose duties are detailed in these guidelines. The Library Representative for Geographical Sciences is Dr Maria Fannin.
• Book purchase recommendations can be made to the Subject Librarian or the Library Representative.
• New journal / database subscription requests can be made to the Subject Librarian or the Library Representative, though you will need to suggest how we might fund a new subscription.
• New academic staff are welcome to contact the Subject Librarian to arrange a session on how the Library can help you.

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• Geographical sciences databases via MetaLib
  This link takes you to the list of geographical sciences databases with brief details against each. Click on the Info icon to display the full details.

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Information gateways

• Internet Geographer - an excellent 'teach yourself' tutorial on Internet information skills for geographers
• Eldis - gateway to development information
• GIgateway - Geographic information gateway for UK - provides free access to UK public and private sector geospatial information
• Go-Geo! - allows for the identification and retrieval of details about geo-spatial datasets and related resources that exist within UK tertiary education and beyond.
• Intute: Science, Engineering & Technology - provides access to the very best web resources for the physical sciences, engineering, computing, geography, mathematics and environmental science.
• Intute: Social Sciences - provides access to the very best Web resources for the social sciences, including human geography
• GEES Subject Centre - supports teaching and learning in the given subject areas

Specific sites

This section includes only a few suggestions from the many sites available.

• American Geophysical Union - the Society's web page with information on its membership, activities, publications, and reports and articles of current interest
• Association of American Geographers - the Society's web page with information on its membership, activities, publications, and resources plus a list of job vacancies
• Directgov - for UK public service information
• e-Digest of environmental statistics in the UK - provided by Environmental Protection, Defra
• Friends of the Earth - contains information on the UK environmental group's activities
• Geography Departments Worldwide - Innsbruck University's list of University Geography Departments around the world
• Institution of Civil Engineers - contains information on the society and on research in areas such as coasts, environment, energy, geotechnics, waste management and water
• International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research (IAHR) - a leading site in the field of water-related issues, particularly hydraulics and hydraulic engineering
• Met Office - for weather forecasts, their research and weather web links
• Royal Geographical Society - the Society's web page with information on events, grants, fieldwork, research, publications and their library
• Scott Polar Research Institute - describes their research work and provides information about the library, museum, and other organisations located in SPRI
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - the prime U.S. government site on the environment
• U.S. Geological Survey - information on the organisation and research in the fields of biology, geology, mapping and water
• University of Bristol School of Geographical Sciences - Geography School's home page
• University of Cambridge, Department of Geography - geographical links
• World Meteorological Organization - provides information on weather prediction, pollution research, climate change, ozone layer depletion, tropical storm forecasting, etc

Note: see also links from other related subject resources sites, such as Engineering, Earth Sciences and Biological Sciences.

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Mailing lists

• JISCmail discussion lists - national academic mailing list service

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General Geographical Sciences dictionaries, directories and encyclopaedias.

The following reference works in the Geography Library constitute a selection of useful reference tools (further details and further reference works can be found on the online catalogue):

Item	Reference number
CIA World Factbook (via MetaLib)
The companion encyclopedia of geography : the environment and humankind	U2.N3 COM
Dictionary of concepts in human geography	U2.N LAR
Dictionary of concepts in physical geography	U2.F1 HUB
Dictionary of earth sciences	U2.F1 DIC
Dictionary of geography	U2.B1 MAY
Dictionary of geopolitics	U2.R DIC
Dictionary of globalization	U2.R3 JON
The Dictionary of human geography	U2.N DIC
Dictionnaire de la géographie	U2.B1 DIC
Encyclopedic dictionary of physical geography	U2.F1 ENC
Encyclopedia of atmospheric sciences and astrogeology	U2.H ENC
Encyclopedia of geochemistry and environmental science	U2.F ENC
Encyclopedia of geomorphology	U2.F1 ENC
Encyclopedia of human geography	U2.N ENC
Encyclopedia of soil science	U2.J ENC
The environment dictionary	U2.N3 KEM
The Facts on File dictionary of human geography	U2.N GOO
Feminist glossary of human geography	U2.N FEM
A glossary of geographical terms	U2 BRI
Glossary of meteorology	U2.H GLO
Macmillan dictionary of the environment	U2.N3 ALL
MacGraw-Hill dictionary of geology and mineralogy	U2.F MAC
Modern dictionary of geography	U2 SMA
The Penguin dictionary of human geography	U2 GOO
The Penguin dictionary of physical geography	U2 WHI

Gazetteers and atlases

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Item	Location/ reference number
The Columbia Lippincott gazetteer of the world, with 1961 supplement	U5 COL
Gazetteer of England	U5.231 MAS
The international geographic encyclopedia and atlas	U5 INT
The Ordnance Survey gazetteer of Great Britain	in the Arts and Social Sciences Library at DA640 ORD
Philip's Atlas of the world	U5 PHI
Times atlas of the world: comprehensive edition	in the Arts and Social Sciences Library at Folio G1019 TIM
Times comprehensive atlas of the world, millennium edition	U5 TIM

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Reading review articles can be a good way of familiarising yourself with a topic quickly.

The following resources contain regular useful review articles and can be found in the Geography Library at location Serial PRO:

• Progress in Human Geography
• Progress in Physical Geography

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• A number of general 'Self-learning resources' are available below, including video tutorials, downloadable library guides, and web resources.
• Find out about referencing in your written work and EndNote referencing software in 'Referencing help'.

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• A number of general 'Self-learning resources' are available below, including video tutorials, downloadable library guides, and web resources.
• Find out about referencing in your written work and EndNote referencing software in 'Referencing help'.

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• Video tutorials - topics include the Library Catalogue, understanding references on reading lists, using the MetaLib resource gateway, off-campus access to eResources, etc.
• Finding and using information pages - covering key aspects of information skills, including researching a topic, effective use of Google, evaluating your search results, avoiding plagiarism, etc. Also includes a Jargon-buster page.
• Library guides - downloadable guides to each branch library, our main search tools, special library services, etc.
• External resources for developing your information skills - including online tutorials and downloadable guides.
• Find out about referencing in your written work and EndNote referencing software in 'Referencing help'.

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Referencing

• General referencing guidance
  includes Why reference? What is included in a reference? Referencing styles, How to reference, Links to useful sites on referencing, and brief details of EndNote and EndNote Web referencing software (see the EndNote referencing software section below for more details).

Journal title abbreviations

Literature references are often written with abbreviated terms. Probably the most troublesome are abbreviated journal titles which can make finding a journal difficult.

To find journal title abbreviations you could try:

• Leistner, Otto. Internationale Titelabkürzungen von Zeitschriften, Zeitungen... in the Arts and Social Sciences Library at Oversize Z6945.A2 LEI
• Journal Abbreviation Resources on the Web

If you are unable to find a title you are looking for please ask a member of the Library staff.

Other resources

For general information, please visit the journal abbreviations page.

 

Please note: these should not be used in the references that you write, unless they are stipulated by the body or journal that you are submitting your work to.

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• General advice on writing and style guides
• Our Plagiarism: information and advice for students page explains what plagiarism is, how to avoid it, and the consequences of plagiarism.

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EndNote is the University of Bristol's recommended bibliographical management software, which can be used to collect, store, organise and manage references, and to output them as reference lists or bibliographies. A particularly useful function is 'Cite While You Write', enabling you to format Word documents, producing bibliographies and adding references within the text.

• EndNote Web help, advice and training sessions
  This is the recommended version for all undergraduate and taught postgraduate students - it is available free to UoB students and staff.
• EndNote Desktop support
  Academics, researchers and research postgraduates can use the desktop version, which may be installed on their UoB PC. See the 'Help and support' page of EndNote Desktop support for details of self help training materials.

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