Chemistry Subject Guide

DICTIONARIES

Concise Chemical and Technical Dictionary. H. Bennett, ed. 4th ed. New York: Chemical Publishing Co, 1986.
REF QD 5 .B4 1986
This dictionary excels in its compilation of thousands of trade names or proprietary products in the synthetic resin, plastic, metal, rubber, textile, food, pharmaceutical and paint fields. Brevity of definition is the rule.

Condensed Chemical Dictionary. 12th ed. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993.
REF QD 5 .C5 1993
A compendium of technical data and descriptive information about many thousands of chemicals and chemical phenomena arranged in a single alphabet. Identifies trademarked products used in chemical industries. Emphasizes environmental and energy consideration.

Dictionary of Chemical Terminology in Five Languages. Dobromia Kryt, ed. New York: Elsevier Scientific Publ. Co., 1980.
REF QD 5 .D49
The main listing is by English, which then presents the German, French, Polish, and Russian terms. Indexes allow one to access the term by any of the non-English languages as well.

ENCYCLOPEDIAS

Concise Encyclopedia Biochemistry. rev. by Thomas Scott and Mary Eagleson. 2nd ed. New York: De Gruyter, 1988.
REF QD 415 .A25 B713 1988 A specialized encyclopedia of great value, translated from German, with many excellent diagrams.

Macmillan Encyclopedia of Chemistry. Joseph J. Lagowski, ed. 4 vols. New York, Macmillan, 1997.
REF QD 4.M33 1997
Best non-specialized general encyclopedia for the field. Contents arranged alphabetically but also includes a synoptic listing. A useful entry on literature searching guides users to more comprehensive sources.

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. 7th ed. 20 vols. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992.
REF Q 121 .M3 1992
A comprehensive encyclopedia covering all branches of science and technology. Contains signed articles written for the intelligent layperson. Cross references lead to related topics. Bibliographies follow most articles. Use the index volume for best access.

Van Nostrand Reinhold Encyclopedia of Chemistry. Douglas M. Considine, ed. 4th ed. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1984.
REF QD 5 .V37 1984
Each of the 1300 alphabetically-arranged articles was prepared by an expert. They are written for the student with a general background in chemistry in mind. Major articles are followed by bibliographic references. A detailed subject index is provided.

GUIDES TO LITERATURE

Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index. 1907-. 3 vols. Columbus, Ohio: Chemical Abstracts Service.
REF DESK QD 1 .A514
An important list of current publications, including journals and other scientific periodicals carrying articles of chemical interest, as well as proceedings of nonrecurring meetings. For each item the full title, authorized abbreviation, frequency, publisher and address, and locations of holdings in more than 300 libraries of the world are given. It is useful not only for determining full titles from abbreviations but also for obtaining information on the publications of scientific organizations.

Chemical Information: A Practical Guide to Utilization. Y. Wolman. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley, 1988.
REF QD 8.5 .W64
Organized by the type of information one is seeking, including a good section on Beilstein.

How to Find Chemical Information. Robert Maizell. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley, 1987.
REF QD 8.5 .M34 1987
Separate chapters devoted to current awareness programs, Chemical Abstracts Service, patents, and physical properties of compounds.

Information Sources in Chemistry. R.T. Bottle, ed. 4th ed. London: Bowker-Saur, 1993.
REF QD 8.5.I47 1993
Listings are organized into three major areas: general sources, pure chemistry, and industrial chemistry. Given the origin of the authors, there is somewhat of a slant towards British sources. Nonetheless, an excellent and straightforward guide.

INDEXES AND ABSTRACTS

Chemical Abstracts. Columbus, Ohio: American Chemical Society, 1907- . Weekly.
PER QD 1 .A51
Library Research Commons - SciFinder (Restricted to current UM-St. Louis Faculty, Staff, and Students only.)
The most comprehensive scientific abstracting service in English. Thousands of journals, patents from all over the world, conference proceedings, reports and monographs are indexed. Each issue includes its own indexes, but the semi-annual cumulative indexes provide additional access points, including subject, chemical substance, ring system, formula, and patent indexes. There are also collective indexes covering 5 or 10 year periods. One of the most important, most comprehensive, and most complex indexes produced. Electronic counterpart available through SciFinder Scholar.

Chemical Titles. Columbus, Ohio: American Chemical Society, 1960- . Biweekly.
PER QD 1 .C47
An index to titles of articles appearing in nearly 1000 periodicals. Each biweekly issue is in three parts:

key words alphabetically arranged down the center of the column;
a bibliography listing journals of current papers from selected journals in table of content order;
an index of authors. Processed more rapidly than Chemical Abstracts, it is used as a current awareness tool.

Science Citation Index. Philadelphia: Institute for Scientific Information, 1961- . Bimonthly with annual cumulations.
INDEX RANGES (1961-1995)
via Web of Science (1995 - current year) (online)
A unique index, the chief aim of which is to provide access to related articles by indicating sources in which a known article has been cited. Several thousand journals in all the natural sciences are now covered. Five year cumulative sets are provided for the earlier time periods. From 1996 forward it is searchable electronically only.

DIRECTORIES

Chemical Research Faculties. Washington: American Chemical Society, c1984- . Irregular?
REF QD 40 .C4317
Identifies the faculties, publications and doctoral theses in departments of chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemistry and medicinal chemistry at universities in countries other than the United States and Canada. Enables a student to determine where a particular research interest may be pursued internationally.

Directory of Graduate Research. Washington: American Chemical Society, 19- . Biennial.
REF QD 21 .D5x
Identifies the faculties, publications and doctoral theses in departments of chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemistry and medicinal chemistry at universities in the United States and Canada. Enables a student to determine where a particular research interest may be pursued.

Directory of Research in Chemistry at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions. Council on Undergraduate Research, 1995-.
REF QD 47.R475
For each university this source identifies the professional interests, publications, and research support for each facutly member.

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

American Men and Women of Science. Issued in multiple volumes. New York: Bowker, 19?- . Irregular.
REF Q 141 .A47
Gives biographical data for over 100,000 men and women of importance in their fields. Information given usually includes full name, address, field of specialization, place and date of birth, degrees, positions, memberships, and research specializations.

Dictionary of Scientific Biography. C.C. Gillispie, ed. 18 vols. New York: Schribner, 1970-80.
REF Q 141 .D5
Presents scholarly, well-documented information on scientists from all periods ranging from classical antiquity to modern times, except no living scientists are included. Each article is followed by a bibliography.

HANDBOOKS

Beilstein Handbook of Organic Chemistry (Beilstein Handbuch der organischen Chemie). Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1918- . Freq. undeter.
PER QD 251 .B4
This monumental, ongoing compilation, the most important reference work in organic chemistry, provides a comprehensive summary of published data on organic compounds. The main work (Hauptwerk) covers the literature through 1909, and the supplements (Ergaenzungswerk) cover ten or twenty year periods thereafter. All compounds are classified according to structure. Refer to a guide to the literature for detailed explanation.
Due to the cost of this title, the Libraries' subscription was replaced with limited electronic access in 1992.

CRC Atlas of Spectral Data and Physical Constants for Organic Compounds. Cleveland, OH: CRC Press, 1975.
REF QD 257.7 .G7 1975
Contains data for 21,000 compounds. Features include a "Name/Synonym Directory"; a section on nomenclature; structural diagrams; and spectral cross-correlation tables.

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Cleveland, OH: CRC Press, c1977- . Annual. REF DESK QD 65 .H3
The standard ready-reference source for chemical and physical data. Major sections are mathematical tables, elements and inorganic compounds, organic compounds, and general physical constants. Detailed index facilitates access.

The Chemical Formulary. New York: Chemical Pub. Co., 1933- . Freq. undeter.
REF TP 151 .C53

An ongoing compilations of formulations of mixtures and blends of chemicals for household or industrial use, such as cosmetics, detergents, polish, etc. This information is difficult to locate elsewhere.

Chemist's Ready Reference Handbook. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 1981.
REF QD 65 .S537 1990
A guide to laboratory procedure for the chemist. Clearly written and well illustrated.

Comprehensive Organic Synthesis. Barry M. Trost, ed. 9 vols. New York: Pergamon, 1991.
REF QD 262.C535
One of a series of medium-sized works designed to fill the gap between the smaller texts and the existing treatises.

Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry. Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson, ed. 9 vols. New York: Pergamon Press, 1982.
REF QD 411 .C65 1982
A handbook to the synthesis, reactions and structure of organometallic compounds. A second series contiues the work. Includes numerous references to the literature and is well indexed.

Comprehensive Surpamolecular Chemistry. Jerry L. Atwood, ed. 11 vols. New York: Pergamon Press, 1996.
REF QD 411.C66 1996
Another in a series of multi-volume handbooks, designed in this case to outline the field of multi-molecular structures held together by noncovalent forces which retain a definable integrity.

Dictionary of Inorganic Compounds. J. E. Macintyre, ed. 5 vols. New York: Chapman and Hall, 1992.
REF QD 148 .D53
Newly published counterpart to the Dictionary of Organic Compounds described below.

Dictionary of Organic Compounds. J. Buckingham, ed. 7 vols and suppls. New York: Chapman and Hall, 1982.
REF QD 251 .D49 1982
Provides data on 150,000 of the most common organic compounds, including structural formula, properties, derivatives, and bibliographic references. Like a miniature Beilstein: easier to use but covers a fraction of the number of compounds.

Gmelins Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1924- . Freq. undeter.
PER QD 151.G52
The counterpart to Beilstein for inorganic compounds. Arrangement is based on the periodic table, but it is best to consult a guide to chemical literature for full explanation. Its publication has been discontinued in favor of electronic access.

Handbook of Organic Chemistry. John Dean. New York: McGraw Hill, 1987.
REF QD 251.2 .D43 1987
This volume is specifically designed to meet the special needs of the organic chemist.

Lange's Handbook of Chemistry. John Dean. 14th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 1992.
REF QD 65 .L36
This handbook is designed to provide quick access to chemical and physical data used in laboratory work and manufacturing. Arranged by broad subject area with a detailed subject index.

The Merck Index: An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. Susan Budavari, ed. (1976- ) Rahway, NJ: Merck, 1889- . Irregular.
REF DESK RS 51 .M4
Comprehensive, interdisciplinary encyclopedia of chemicals, drugs and biological substances. Provides concise descriptions of the preparation and general properties of compounds, correlating their generic and chemical names with structures, trademarks, and company affiliations.