The Role of Books in Natural Resources Research
Books are generally considered support materials for natural resources research, not the prime focus. The hot new discoveries are found in the journal literature. However books encapsulate what we know about a given topic and are critical for background information and learning about how related topics fit together. Any research project should include consultation of books, encyclopedias, and/or handbooks related to the topic for additional learning.
Natural Resources books will tend to be on ecological, evolutionary, zoological, botanical, anatomical, microbiological, or basic science topics. We get a combination of print and e-books so be open to using both formats. Check the Library's General Search catalog to see what we have. Start searching on your specific topic and if not successful then broaden your search out. You will find specific reference books and handbooks listed on a separate page in this guide.
Other important information resources include cooperative extension sources and the National Agricultural Law Center, found in the Other Information Sources page of this guide.
Finding Books Using the Library's General Search
The Library's General Search box on the homepage accesses books, media, electronic materials such as ejournals and ebooks, and the Connecticut Digital Archive (CTDA).
Tip: Sign in to get the most benefits from General Search: save items permanently to a basket, save searches, and request items from other campus libraries.
The Library General Search guide contains search examples, help, and other information on using the General Search box.
Finding Books by Call Number
- Call Number Floor GuideUse this guide to find your call number in the Babbidge Library.
Finding Books on a Topic
Start with a keyword search. Keyword searches look for your terms in the title, author, description, and subject fields.
To find only books on the topic, Refine Results to books in the left column. 
If you do not get any (or enough) results, your search might be too narrow or you might be entering too many terms (example: cigarette, smoking, health, teenagers, effects). Try to broaden your search by entering only one or two key concepts (smoking, teenagers).
If you get too many results, try to add terms to your search to explore a more specific aspect. For example, a search for "violence" produces over 10,000 results. Adding "media" produces still over 600 results. Searching "violence" "media" and "gender" together narrows the results to a (more) manageable number.
If you find books that might be useful, look at the subjects listed in the Details tab. Those subjects can be used to find more books on your topic.
Knovel Book Series
The Knovel Library includes books on engineering, earth sciences, sustainable energy, chemistry, environmental engineering and more.
- Knovelincludes books from engineering, earth sciences, sustainable energy, chemistry, and more. Search here for books on:
