| Library Guide - GEOGRAPHY |
Click here for printable version
I’m your Liaison Librarian for Geography, Deniz Bilgen. If you need help with finding or accessing any of the sources mentioned in this guide, I will be happy to help. Contact me in the library or as follows:
Email: d.bilgen@newman.ac.uk
Tel: 0121 476 1181 ex.1413
This subject guide is intended to help you find relevant information and resources to support you during your course of Geography. It provides a comprehensive overview of the best resources for your subject area.
Remember, a comprehensive literature search of the available resources will allow you to read widely around the subject, absorb a range of viewpoints and reach your own conclusions on a topic based on what you've read. Exactly the kind of behaviour your lecturers are looking for!
Library catalogue and reading lists
The library catalogue is accessible at designated terminals in the library or online via the library homepage.
You can search the catalogue by keyword, title, author or year. The keyword option is especially useful for searching a particular subject as it performs a flexible search.
An online help guide to using the catalogue is available (click on the Help tab in the library catalogue), but if you need any further help please ask a member of library staff.
An online reading list facility, Learnbuild Discover, is available via the library catalogue.
Find items on your reading lists by clicking on the ‘Reading Lists’ tab on the opening screen of the catalogue. Using this option you can link directly through to items on the reading list without having to type in each author and title on the list.
The School Experience Collection is a special collection of resources to support you during school placements. The collection includes books, big books, lesson planning materials, CDs, videos and DVDs, posters and artefacts covering all subjects and key stages. You can search for these resources on the library catalogue by selecting ‘School Experience Resources’ from the drop-down collections box on the search screen.
If you have any suggestions for useful resources to add to the School Experience Collection, please contact your Liaison Librarian, Deniz Bilgen.
Quick reference sources, which are available in the Education Reference Collection in the library and online, provide a useful starting point for your research. Sources include encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, directories and yearbooks and you can use them to find:
• Explanations and definitions of particular terms or topics.
•
Contact addresses or information on people or organisations.
•
Factual and statistical information.
The library subscribes to the following services which can be accessed from the ‘Electronic Resources - E-Reference’ page of the library website:
• Britannica Online – Academic Electronic version of this authoritative encyclopedia. Also links through to full-text journal articles on topics covered in the encyclopedia.
• Oxford Reference Online - Quick reference information together with authoritative, in-depth articles. Contains the full text of over 130 dictionaries, plus an encyclopaedia, thesauri, and guides to English grammar and usage. Includes a wide range of additional material such as maps, illustrations and timelines.
You will find the following and many others in the Reference Collection:
• The dictionary of human geography
• The encyclopaedic dictionary of physical geography
• The Penguin dictionary of geography
• Whitaker's almanack 2010
The Library uses the Dewey decimal system to classify and arrange its books by subject. The catalogue will give you the shelf number of the book you need, and tell you if it is in the library or out on loan. The following are some examples of shelf numbers relevant to Geography:
| Economics of natural resources | 333.7 |
| Globalisation | 337 |
| Industrialisation | 338.09 |
| Agriculture | 338.1 |
| Sustainable development | 338.9 |
| Primary school geography | 372.891 |
| Secondary school geography | 375.91 |
| Physical geography | 550 |
| Geology | 551 |
| Geomorphology and hydrosphere | 551.4 |
| Climatology and weather | 551.6 |
| Geography | 910 |
| Statistics for geography | 910.00182 |
| Geographical information systems | 910.285 |
| Maps and atlases | 912 |
| Geography of Europe | 914 |
Some of the library’s most popular texts are now available to you electronically through our e-book service provided by Dawsonera.
Dawsonera can be accessed from the E-books section of the Electronic Resources page of the library website. You will need to be logged into Athens to access the full-text books which the library has purchased (details can be found in the ‘Athens information’ section of the Electronic Resources page on the library website). Individual titles can also be accessed via the library catalogue.
For some modules you may be required to purchase some or all of the texts from the ‘essential reading’ on your reading lists. You may find the following retailers useful:
Abebooks Online bookshop especially useful for second hand and out of print books.
Amazon Online books, often much cheaper than RRP!
Waterstones Search and buy online or try their branch located on the University of Birmingham Edgbaston campus – they often have textbooks in stock that are difficult to obtain from elsewhere. Telephone them on 0121 472 3034.
Journals are an excellent source of information. They show evidence of wider reading, are important for research and help you to keep informed of any changes and developments in the study of your subject area. They are published more frequently than textbooks, so the information they hold is often more up-to-date.
You can search for journal titles on the library catalogue by selecting ‘journals’ from the drop-down collections box on the search screen. The journal collection is for reference only, so titles should always be accessible. They are shelved alphabetically by title in the Journal room.
Examples of titles that you may find useful for Geography are:
Cumberland Geological Proceedings
Geography Review
Environmental Education
Journal of Geography in Higher Education
European Urban and Regional Studies
Journal of Rural Enterprise and Management
GA News
National Geographic
National Parks
Geographical
Primary Geographer
Geographical Journal
Teaching Geography
Geographical Review
Town and Country Planning
Geography
The library subscribes to two different types of electronic journal service, both of which are accessible from the Electronic Resources page of the library website:
• Online services containing full-text journal articles
Education Research Complete Full-text database for education and training.
Swetswise Full-text articles from a range of journals, including titles currently held in hard copy in the library.
Business Source Elite provides references, abstracts, and some full text journal articles in Business-related fields. It is a useful source of references to journal articles in the fields of urban geography, economic geography, industrial geography and planning.
• Databases containing abstracts and indexes
ERIC World’s largest database of references and abstracts to journal articles in the field of education.
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) provides references and abstracts to journal articles from over 2600 social science journals. The database is international in coverage and includes references to articles from hundreds of Geography journals.
GreenFILE offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. The database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 384,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,700 records.
You can also use Journals A-Z List to find out if we have access to a journal in print or electronically. If we have access to the journal in print you will be linked through to the library catalogue and if we have electronic access to the journal, it will link you through to the relevant database or online journal service. This list is particularly useful if you have obtained the bibliographic details of an article and you need to find out if we have access to the journal title.
You will need to be logged into Athens in order to be able to access most of these resources, details can be found in the ‘Athens information’ section of the Electronic Resources page on the library website.
Statistics underpin many academic debates about quality, standards, equal opportunities and the overall effectiveness of Government policy. You can use them in assignments or research to add weight to your arguments.
• Annual Abstract of Statistics Produced by the Office for National Statistics. An annual publication containing a comprehensive collection of statistics about the UK’s economy and society including population, national accounts and government finance, the labour market, health and social protection, education, crime, environment, transport and many other subjects.
• Social Trends Produced by the Office for National Statistics, annually. Provides a comprehensive guide to UK society, illustrating how our lives have changed over the years and also reflecting the realities of contemporary lifestyles.
DCSF National Statistics Department for Children, Schools and Families Analytical Services produce a wide range of statistics covering education, training and life-long learning.
Eurydice Eurydice provides research and statistics on European education systems and policy.
UK Statistics Authority Oversees the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Provides links to government sites to find the statistics of your choice. Sections include Neighbourhood, Economy, Census and Population.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics Global and internationally comparable statistics on education, science, technology, culture and communication.
You may find the following quality sites useful:
BBC Schools Primary Geography - Includes a range of interactive resources, including the official Barnaby Bear website
CIA World Factbook - An online version of The World Factbook which is regularly updated
DirectgovKids - A government site which introduces primary school children to the world around them. Includes a virtual world for children and a range of resources for teachers
Europa - Let's Explore Europe - A guide to the EU and Europe for young people which includes interactive quizzesand games
GeoConnexion - Full text access is available to Geo:International and GeoConnexionUK. Click here for password.
Geography Teaching Today - Resources for teaching geography and CPD materials for teachers
Primary Resources: Geography - Free lesson plans, resources and ideas for teaching geography
Rainforest Alliance - A global conservation organisation whose website includes case studies, research and educational resources
Teachers in Development Education - Website includes details of TIDE~ events and resources
United Nations CyberSchoolBus - A global teaching and learning project which includes a wide range of multimedia games and resources
Information gateways gather internet resources which are carefully selected, indexed and described by subject specialists. You may find the following gateway useful for Geography:
Intute: Geography and environment With millions of resources available on the Internet, it is difficult to find relevant and appropriate material even if you have good search skills and use advanced search engines. The Intute: Virtual Training Suite provides online tutorials on finding academic information on the internet and includes a tutorial specifically for Geography students.
Deniz Bilgen – February 2010.