Resources

Chemistry Databases, http://library.southernct.edu/sdlchemistry.htm
Chemistry Resources, http://library.southernct.edu/chembib.htm

Chemistry Literature

Chemistry literature is can be roughly divided between journal articles and data collections. Journal articles will primarily be searched through online databases. Data collections, such as handbooks of chemical properties, are either reference books or online. (There are also guides to procedures and methods, published as books and articles.)

Databases, available from the Online Databases page on the Library Home Page

Databases are the primary way of finding journal articles. Databases consist of indexes which list information about the articles such as author, title, journal information, and subject(s). Sometimes abstracts, or summaries, are included. Some databases also have the full text of the articles, in which case you can also search for keywords in the text. When the full text of an article is not available in the database, use the Journal Locator to find full text, search the library catalog for the journal, or request the article through Interlibrary Loan.

Journal titles are often given as abbreviations. Many abbreviations can be entered directly into the Journal Locator, or use an Internet source like All that JAS (Journal Abbreviation Sources).

• American Chemical Society Journals -- Full text of many of the journals published by the largest American chemistry publisher.
• ScienceDirect (Elsevier) -- Abstracts and selected full text articles in scientific, technical and medical fields.
• Chemical Abstracts -- The premier index for articles in chemistry journals. Available Monday-Friday after 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Call the Reference Desk at 392-5732 for access information. Articles can be found using Journal Locator or Interlibrary Loan.
• Academic Search Premier -- Abstracts and some full text articles in a variety of academic disciplines.
• When searching for chemistry information related to another subject, sometimes a database devoted to the secondary subject is useful.
  
  • Agriculture (Pesticides, Fertilizers, etc.) - AGRICOLA
  • Biology/Ecology/Environmental Issues - BioOne
  • Chemistry Education - ERIC
  • Engineering/Materials Science - Applied Science and Technology Index
  • Pharmaceuticals - MEDLINE , CINAHL

We have a few chemical dictionaries in the library databases:

• Dictionary of Chemistry
• Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology
• The New Penguin Dictionary of Science

Databases can also include educational materials.

• Science Reference Center
  Full text articles suitable for use in the classroom. You can limit by grade level. Many of the articles at the high school level (Grades 9-12) are also excellent as introductory and background materials for college classes, and are from science journals like Science , and from popular science magazines like Discover .
• Also search the Education Databases for more articles on Science Education.

Data Collections

Data collections would include handbooks of chemical data, such as the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics or the Handbook of Infrared & Ramen Spectra. These books will generally be in the QD section of the Reference Collection and cannot be checked out of the library.

Online library data collections

• Knovel K-Essentials E-books Full text reference books in chemistry, physics, and mathematics, including tables of physical constants which can be manipulated and exported. The specific chemistry related ones are:
• International Critical Tables of Numerical Data, Physics, Chemistry and Technology (1st Electronic Edition) - data on organic and inorganic compounds from the original edition (1920's & 1930's)
• Knovel Critical Tables  - tables of physical, solvent, and thermodynamic properties for over 21,000 inorganic and organic compounds, with interactive tables

There are also data collections on the web (more are listed on the Chemistry Research Guide)

• NIST Chemistry Web Book http://webbook.nist.gov/chemistry/ - site provides thermochemical, thermophysical, and ion energetics data compiled by NIST under the Standard Reference Data Program
• IRUG Spectral Database Search http://www.irug.org/ed2k/search.asp  - search for IR spectra by keyword
• Spectral Database for Organic Compounds, SDBS http://riodb01.ibase.aist.go.jp/sdbs/cgi-bin/cre_index.cgi?lang=eng - SDBS is an integrated spectral database system for organic compounds
• PubChem  http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ - chemical structures of small organic molecules and information on their biological activities, from the National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Standards and Technology.
• WebElements http://www.webelements.com/ - Periodic Table with extensive data on each element
• WWW Chemical Structures Database http://www2.chemie.uni-erlangen.de/services/index.html - chemical properties database, allows searching by structure

Updated February 13, 2008