Introductory Library Guide for
W. Moomaw / T. Weiskel's Environmental Studies E-130
Global Climate Change
Harvard Extension SchoolSpring 2008
Key Library Links:
Environmental Library Resources at Harvard (Links and Info)
HOLLIS (Harvard Library Catalog)
E-Resources (Harvard's Citation Databases, Some Full Text)
E-Journals (Harvard's Specific Online Journal Titles)Tufts Libraries
Tufts Library Catalog
Tufts Database Finder
Ginn Library A-Z list (Journals and Databases)Library Guide:
- Finding Background Info
- Finding Newspaper Articles
- Finding Journal Articles
- Finding Dissertations
- Finding Government Publications
- Finding Other "Gray Literature"
- What if I Can't Find What I Want at My Institution?
- Library Privileges at Harvard Extension
- Library Resources at Tufts
- Free Links from Tufts
- Review of Public Free Links
Finding Background Info
Books can provide background information that will add context to your research, and books with bibliographies can lead to other research sources. To find books in the Harvard libraries, use the HOLLIS catalog, either with a direct link or through the Harvard Libraries web page. To search for books on a specific topic, enter terms in the "keyword" search window.
Tips
Once you find a relevant book, click on its subject heading (look for these in the field labeled SUBJECTS) to get a list of similar items divided by subtopic.
Note that HOLLIS is available freely on the web, so it can be a resource for finding citations for books even if you may need to get the books themselves from another source.
CQ Researcher provides background information on public policy topics. Reports are about 20-pages. They include summaries, timelines, sides of an argument, and a bibliography. Note that topics are only addressed periodically, so the ones on "global warming" and "global warming treaty" provide relatively old information, while the "climate change " article was new in 2006.
Tips
Finding Newspaper Articles
For newspaper articles, use Lexis-Nexis. Lexis-Nexis will give you the full text of articles from English-language newspapers, newsletters, magazines, trade journals, wire services, and radio and television broadcasts. It also offers international sources in Spanish, French, Italian, German and Dutch.
The complete run of the New York Times from 1851 to 2004 and The Wall Street Journal from 1889 to 1990 are available through ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Many stories from the past week of the New York Times is available for free at NYTimes.com.
The Newspaper Microfilm Reading Room at Widener Library also houses an extensive collection of U.S. and foreign newspapers on microfilm.
Environmental News Services
Environment and Energy Daily is a news service tracking environmental and energy action in the U.S. Congress.
Greenwire is a daily environmental news service. It covers general environmental news and events in the United States and abroad.
Linkages is a web-based resource for global environmental conferences and meetings. Contains the online version of Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
OneWorld is a network advocating for sustainability and human rights and an alternative news and opinion source for these topics.
News Releases
ScienceDaily reprints online news releases on science topics.
Finding Journal Articles
Academic Search Premier provides indexing and abstracts for more than 7800 scholarly and general-interest periodicals, plus full text for nearly 4,500 of these titles. Most complete coverage of periodicals begins in the 1990's, but some earlier citations and full-text are available. Since the environment is such a broad topic, this is good place to begin looking for journal articles.
Tips
Environment Index is a "broad-based, interdisciplinary database covering more than 500 technical and general environmentally related journals" beginning in 1973. EIPI provides citations and abstracts for the following general topic areas: human ecology, agriculture, industry, science and technology, water resources, air, water management and pollution, energy, nutrition and health, land resources, conservation, wildlife, and nature.
Tips
ISI Web of Science/Citation Indices: If you have an article that you think is really great, you can use the citation indexes in the ISI Web of Science to find out more. This resource contains the Science Citation Index, the Social Science Citation Index, and the Arts & Humanities Citation Index. These indexes tell you who has referred to a certain publication in the years since its release. These citations generally include both authors who have been supportive of the original piece and those in opposition. Using ISI Web of Science is one of the best ways to trace the development of an idea.
Under "Full Search," select the subject index you want, select the date range of citations to generate, and hit "General Search." Then enter the citation information (e.g., author or title) in the appropriate fields and hit "search." You will see a list of articles. Select the one you are searching about and then hit the button for "times cited" to generate a list of articles that cite your article. Note that articles published in the last few years will not have had time to be cited yet and so will not usually generate hits for "times cited."
Tips
Use the checkboxes next to the citations and the "Marked List" feature to email citations.
CAB Abstracts: literature in agriculture, forestry, human and animal nutrition, animal health, natural resource management and conservation, and related aspects of human health. Also animal and plant science, crop protection, parasitology, soil science, rural development, economics, horticulture, and agricultural engineering.
Individual Journals of Interest
Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy (ASAP)
Climatic Change
Environment
Global Environmental Change
Mitigation and Adaptaton Strategies for Global Change
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
Nature
New Scientist
Science
Scientific American
Finding Dissertations
Use Proquest Dissertations and Theses to look up graduate dissertations and theses. A dissertation on your research topic or a similar subject should have a comprehensive bibliography, and it may provide a concise summary of the various positions on a given topic. Many dissertations, especially recent ones, are available free in full text to Harvard users. Others are available for purchase.
Tips
Finding Government Publications
AccessUN and AccessUNDP. Access UN is also known as Readex United Nations Index. This collection includes current and retrospective United Nations documents and publications from 1948 to present from its 6 main bodies: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, Secretariat and International Court of Justice. Full-text resolutions from the General Assembly, Security Council and the Economic and Social Council are appended to their respective bibliographic citations. Access UNDP is an index to a finite collection of United Nations Development Programme project reports issued for the period 1972-1998.
The Congressional component of LexisNexis indexes and provides full-text access to the U.S. Congressional documents such as the Congressional Record, hearings, committee reports, prints, laws, resolutions, and bills as well as biographical, financial and voting information of all members. It also provides access to the National Journal and Congress Daily. It covers the period from 1970 to the present, as well as a selected body of historical materials.
Note that Harvard also has a Government Information Services department located on Lamont Libary Level B that includes material in print, in microforms, and in other formats. The "govdocs" library includes strong collections on the U.N., the United States, and foreign governments. Many materials are not in HOLLIS, so see a govdocs reference librarian for assistance.
USA.gov is the main United States Government web index. You can use it to do subject searches (environment, energy, and agriculture) or to browse individual participating agency web sites. GPO Access, from the Government Printing Office, is another good source for U.S. government publications.
United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) In addition to single reports on a variety of climate change topics, the IPCC produces an "assessment report" series that summarizes and synthesizes the state of published science and social science on climage change. The IPCC's output serves as the largely accepted basis for international negotiations on climate change. The Fourth Assessment is in four volumes: The Physical Science Basis; Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability; Mitigation; and Synthesis Report.
World Health Organization (WHO)
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Finding Other "Gray Literature"
Scientific societies, associations, academies, and research centers can be useful in finding research materials on climate change. A few of the many relevant resources are:
AAAS Global Climate Change Resources
H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) sustainability page
Pew Center on Global Climate Change
SustainabilityScience.org Forum
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
What if I Can't Find What I Want at My Institution's Library?
WorldCat indexes the catalogs of thousands of libraries around the world. You can use it to find other libraries in your local area that have a certain publication. Then check those libraries to see if you can visit them and look at the material.
If you don't mind a wait, your library (including many public libraries in the United States) may have an Interlibrary Loan office (Harvard/FAS). Check with them to see if they can get you the publication that you want.
Library Privileges at Harvard Extension
The home library of the Extension School of Harvard University is Grossman Library. Information regarding for extension students in the Extension School can be found at that website.
Library Resources at Tufts
This course is cross-listed at Tufts University. The Tufts University libraries have many licensed databases and electronic journals covering environmental subjects. Most of these require a Tufts University ID. They are available via the Ginn Library A-Z list or the Tisch Library research guide "Environmental Science, Ecology, and Biodiversity."
The reference desk at the Edwin Ginn Library of the Fletcher School is available by web form and by phone at (617) 627-5021.
Free Links From Tufts or Recommended by Tufts Librarians
(By Miriam Seltzer, Edwin Ginn Library)Fletcher's International Relations Resources: a collection of links that have been evaluated and annotated to help students, professors and researchers. This is the Environmental Studies section.
The Fletcher Multilaterals Project provides the text of selected multilateral conventions and links to other treaty resources.
Treaty and Convention Sources. Use the "Environment, Biodiversity and Climate" heading.
Forced Migration Online is a portal of resources on the situation of forced migrants worldwide. It includes scanned gray literature, a web catalog, and research guides on countries and themes. Use environment as a subject search term to find refugee resources related to the environment.
The Tisch Library research guide Environmental Science, Ecology, and Biodiversity has a wide variety of links by subject and source of information.
The Global Development and Environment Institute website includes articles, policy documents and discussion papers on economics, policy, science, and technology.
The Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE) is a university-wide institute that coordinates environmental programs at Tufts.
The Electronic Information System for International Law is a database being developed by the American Society of International Law with primary documents, recommended websites, and research guides. Use the International Environmental Law section.
Review of Public Free Links
Please note that your local academic or public library may have licensed some of the "private" resources mentioned above. Contact them to find out. There are also many resources that are available on the web or otherwise for free. Some publicly available resources are listed below. Note that these may include resources that can generate citations of materials but not necessarily the materials themselves:
Depository Libraries (a great source for U.S. government publications)
GPO Access
Gray Literature (selected publications of scientific societies, academies, advocacy organizations, etc.)
HOLLIS
IPCC
Linkages
NYTimes.com
OneWorld
ScienceDaily
Tufts Links
UN and Affiliated Agencies
USA.gov
For further help, contact Environmental Research Librarian George Clark.
