First Year Seminar - Field Notes from a Catastrophe, by Elizabeth Kolbert  

      

Welcome first year scholars!  The resources on this web page are focused on Elizabeth Kolbert's Field Notes from a Catastrophe.  You will also notice course web pages linked in the right hand column of this page for specific sections of First Year Seminar classes. 

Print Sources
You will find print books and reference sources listed below that are available in the Saint Michael's College Library as well as electronic resources available through the Library web pages.  Search for books in the SMC library collection with the SMC library catalog. 

Periodical Articles
To locate periodical articles about Field Notes from a Catastrophe, use the Genearl Articles Quick Search box below.  Articles from magazines and journals may be research based or opinionated.  Research based articles from academic journals may be referred to by faculty as scholarly.  A web page is available for students explaining more about scholarly journals.

Academic Integrity
In addition to providing resources such as books, encyclopedias, atlases, chronologies, and online periodical databases, the library has developed web pages for students with information about academic integrity and plagiarism, examples of various citation and documentation styles, and guidelines for evaluating and selecting resources.

Reference Librarians
The Reference librarians are available to guide students to reliable resources appropriate for homework assignments and resarch projects.  Stop by the reference desk in the library or contact one of the reference librarians for assistance.  Phone numbers and email addresses are linked below.

Check out the videos about climate change and the environment listed below--these videos are just a sampling of the thousands of videos and dvds located in the SMC library collection.

Recommended Resources Available at the Library  

An iceberg melts in Kulusuk Bay, eastern Greenland Tuesday July 17, 2007 Copyright APImagesReference
Locate encyclopedia articles for an overview and background information

Encyclopedias provide background information, present important issues and subtopics, and provide a timeframe and history.  Articles in subject encyclopedias are often signed and written by scholars in the field and provide a bibliography of additional sources.  Listed below are several encyclopedias that would be helpful for locating information about Kolbert's book.  Two chronologies located in the reference collection are also included below.

AccessScience
(Environmental Science)

Encyclopedia of Life
Highly anticipated "ecosystem of websites that makes all key information about all life on Earth accessible to anyone."

Biology  (4 vol encyclopedia)

Credo Reference
Search Life Science encyclopedias and dictionaries

Beacham's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America

            Primary Sources

Environmental Issues: Essential Primary Sources...Located in the Library: call number GE105.E5825

           Indepth Reports from the CQ Researcher database

Offshore Drilling (2010)
Confronting Warming (2009)
Reducing Your Carbon Footprint (2008)  
Disappearing Species (2007)      

      The extinction of the golden toad coincided with reductions in moisture levels in Costa Rica’s cloud forest. Photo from free.ed.govBooks/Videos
                Locate books and videos in library collections

Search the SMC Library Catalog:

Search the SMC online catalog with keywords or with subject headings such as those listed below. 

    subject headings                   keywords  
global warming "global warming" and "Shish Marif"
Kyoto Protocol "Kyoto Protocol"
climatic change "climate change" or "climatic change" or "climate shifts"
greenhouse effect "greenhouse gases" and "climate change"
endangered species
endangered and species and "climate change"
glaciers "glacial cycles" or "glacial melt"
carbon dioxide "carbon dioxide emissions" and china
environmental degradation carbon and emissions and permafrost
green technology "wind energy" or "solar energy"
renewable energy "green energy"


Lots of videos are available in the SMC collection.  Below are a sampling related to climate change:

           Burning Season (DVD B9667) 2008.
           Life after People (DVD L7221) 2008. 

This June 16, 2009 photo shows a Holstein cow at Coventry Valley Farm in Coventry, Vt. Yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm wants its cows to burp less. It's for a noble cause: cutting down on the gases that contribute to global warming. Working with 15 Vermont farms to change cows' diets so they emit less methane, it has already reduced cow burping by as much as 18 percent. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot) Copyright APImagesArticles
Use periodical databases for full text magazine, journal, and newspaper articles

General Articles Quick Search
  
 
 

Online electronic databases such as Academic Search Premier and Expanded Academic ASAP provide access to  magazine and journal articles.  These two databases cover a broad selection of publications, some scholarly and some for a more popular audience. In addition, there are two databases to the New York Times newspaper, one for historical research and one for more current articles: New York Times Historical(1851-2002); New York Times Current (1980-current).

Time magazine article: "Has the Meltdown Begun" by Michael D. Lemonick (Feb. 27, 2006).

New York Times article: "Scientists Caution on Changes in Climate as Result of Pollution" (Dec. 21, 1969.

Conveyors bring wood fuel to the McNeil Generating Station in Burlington, Vermont. The power plant, rated at 50 MW is this country's only utility-owned and operated wood-fired power plant. From www.nrel.gov/Websites

PEW Center on Climate Change  

Living Planet Report

World Bank/ Food Crisis

World Resources Institute

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

U.S.Fish and Wildlife

“Biodiversity in Crisis?”  from American Museum of Natural History.  Web.  29 Oct 2009.  

American Institute of Biological Sciences 

Select resources wisely:
Evaluate and selectively choose resources applying the following evaluation criteria:

Timeliness: is the information current?, updated? historical perspective?
Authority: who is the author; who is responsible for the information presented?
Accuracy:  compare the facts with other sources; does a bibliography provide evidence of research and documentation with other sources? 
Purpose: who is the intended audience
Intended audience: high school, college, graduate level?

Maintained by Marilyn Scoville