Archive for the tag 'Ecology'

New Reference Books: A Dictionary of Biology, A Dictionary of Earth Sciences

Lura Sanborn April 6th, 2010

Two new updates by famed reference publisher, Oxford University Press are now available in Ohrstrom:

A Dictionary of Biology edited by Robert S. Hine, Oxford, 2008.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 574 Ox2M

A Dictionary of Biology, now in its 6th edition is, in fact, a straight-forward dictionary of biology.  Flip through the alphabetical listings to find brief definitions of:
•    Abductor
•    Corolla
•    Factor VIII
•    Palaeozoic

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences edited by Michael Allaby, Oxford, 2008.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 550 AL5D

A Dictionary of Earth Science, now in its 3rd edition is also a straight-forward dictionary, this time about earth sciences.  Flip through the alphabetical listings to find brief definitions of:
•    Accumulation zone
•    Goldschmidt’s rules
•    Moisture budget
•    Tidal current

Helpful for:  Biology, Ecology, Eco-Action, Human Anatomy

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New Reference Book: Landmarks and Pioneers in American Science

Lisa Laughy May 19th, 2009

Lura Sanborn – Reference Librarian

Research and Discovery: Landmarks and Pioneers in American Science edited by Russell Lawson, M.E. Sharpe, 2008.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 509 L44R

This three volumes set presents scientific biographies, topics and inventions from fourteen different branches of science.  A handful of primary source documents conclude each section.

Read about Weather in Early America, John Josselyn’s Description of Seventeenth-Century Fauna, Psychoanalysis in America, Count Rumford and/or browse the entry on New Hampshire’s own Mary Baker Eddy and her connection to Medicine & Health.

Helpful for: Science, Humanities IV, Ecology

Photo credit:

Count von Rumford, Benjamin Thompson. Essays, Political, Economical, and Philosophical. 2 vols. Boston: Manning & Loring, 1799. Thomas Jefferson’s Library. Lib. of Congress. 17 Apr. 2009 <http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jefflib.html>.

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New Reference Books: Earth Day Edition

Deb Baker April 21st, 2009

Here are two new reference books in Ohrstrom Library’s collection with special significance for Earth Day:

Human Development Report 2007/2008 Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), director and lead author Kevin Watkins, 2007.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: Ref. 303.44 Un3 2007/2008

Human Development Report 2007/2008

UNDP’s annual report measures the health, welfare, economic and physical security and well being of people in 175 UN member nations plus Hong Kong and the Palestinian Territories, as well as the status of international treaties on human rights, the environment, and labor. Each year, the report opens with an extensive analysis of a key international development issue, and this year’s focus is climate change and the responses, projected outcomes, and potential impact on human development around the world. Both cautionary and hopeful, this is a useful and fascinating read.

HELPFUL FOR: Leadership for Social Justice, Topics in Global Events

FUN FOR: global citizens, Eco-Action members, debaters, future pundits and policy wonks, tree huggers, activists, voters

Deb Baker – Interim Reference Librarian


The Facts on File Dictionary of Environmental Science by Bruce C. Wyman and L. Harold Stevenson, Facts On File, 3rd ed., 2007.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF REF 363.7 W98

Over 4,000 terms are defined, including: nuclear winter, silviculture, and ethanol.

Several appendixes conclude the volume, including: environmental acronyms, plastic recycling codes & earth, atmosphere and water statistics.

Helpful for: Ecology, Eco-Action, Earth Day.

Lura Sanborn- Reference Librarian

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