Reference Resources and Related Materials
The Brown Library and its satellites provide access to a wide variety of traditional and specialized reference materials in both printed and electronic formats. The links on this page will take you to lists of important reference titles for many subject areas, as well as to specialized finding aids and help documents of many kinds. If you need assistance in locating or using reference tools in any of our libraries, please do not hesitate to contact a staff member at the information or service desk in whichever library you are conducting your research. Or feel free to contact the subject librarian assigned to your area of interest.
Internet Reference Sources
The library maintains links to an extensive collection of online reference tools in all subject areas. Many of these resources are also available in printed form in various libraries. To comment on these pages or to suggest resources to add to them, please E-mail refweb@virginia.edu
For persons not affiliated with the University of Virginia who have reference questions, here is a list of Web Resources where one may submit questions and receive responses via E-mail.
Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, and Handbooks
Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics(UVA Only)
Dictionary of Units of Measurement
Dirac Delta Encyclopedia of Science and Engineering
Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics(UVA Only)
Encyclopedia Britannica (UVA Only)
Encyclopedia of Life Sciences (UVA Only)
ENGnetBASE (Engineering Handbooks Online) (UVA Only)
ENVIROnetBASE(UVA Only)
Glossaries on the Web (from Xlation.com)
Scientific and Technical Acronyms, Symbols and Abbreviations
Searching the Database... Help Sheets
The links below will take you to help sheets designed to provide assistance in using various online databases provided by the libraries.
Guides to Specific Topics
The following guides will assist you in learning more about the science and engineering libraries and in searching for information on specific topics. You should also review the Subject Guide for your area of interest in addition to the resources listed here.
Avibase - the World Bird Database
Engineering Students Library Handbook
Brief Guide to Engineering Information
Brief Guide to Finding Information on the Web
Conference Alerts - Academic Conferences Worldwide
Determining the Concentration of Stomach Acid in Humans Following a Meal
Guidelines for Authors of Journal Articles: Publist (Search for journal title, then look for author instructions)
How to Determine Whether a Periodical is Popular or Scholarly
Mayo Clinic Drug and Herb Database
