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Besides
the general encyclopedias such as World Book Encyclopedia
and Encyclopedia Britannica, here, we discuss important
encyclopedias in various engineering disciplines and arrange
them alphabetically rather than by specific engineering
discipline. Also see Encyclopedia Britannica Internet Guide
http://www.eb.com
for over 135,000 selected, annotated, and reviewed Web
pages. Use encyclopedias to get a feel for a topic, concept, people, or events. We suggest that you get familiarized with encyclopedias because they give you a useful overview of a topic, discuss subtopics, list references for further reading, and often include authors' names and their affiliations so you can get in touch with experts in respective fields. Examples of topics include things (e.g., aircraft), chemical substances (e.g., FCCUs), standards (e.g., AISI 304), methods, processes, inventors and notable engineers. Most encyclopedias have Index and Preface as important parts of their makeup. You should always start by skimming through the Preface which will tell you about the scope of the work, coverage, intended audience, and how to use the work effectively. Use Index in order to find articles, particularly in multi-volume works where desired articles may be scaterred across many different volumes. Index may also include alternative headings to look under. A special feature of the selected sources is the inclusion of subject headings and subheadings which you can use to find more encyclopedias on the related topics. These headings are from the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) that are used by most library catalogs in the United States. For example, in Melvyl (telnet version), you would type in the following command: f su mechanical engineering encyclopedias The WEBMel uses the same search words but without command (find subject). The result will be a list of brief titles for records each representing encyclopedias in mechanical engineering. You will find that many encyclopedias are called by various terms such as dictionaries and indexes. Some of these works are available as online databases (e.g., The Merck Index, Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology). However, because many of these databases are fee-based and not available to engineering students on the Internet, we have not included instructions on how to search them. Consult your local library and check with reference librarians for guide-sheets or instructions on how to use specific databases that are available on your local library catalogs. Remember that this tutorial is not comprehensive, complete, and may not apply to certain sources and systems that only your library has. Libraries differ with regard to their collections, services, and policies. We want to introduce you to the library and information system concepts that generally apply to most libraries and resources, so that you can ask good questions and use your resources to the potential. ENCYCLOPEDIAS Concise
Encyclopedia of Composite
Materials
/ editor, Anthony Kelly ; executive editor Robert W. Cahn ;
senior advisory editor, Michael B. Bever. Rev. ed. Oxford,
England ; Tarrytown, N.Y., USA : Pergamon, 1994. Encyclopedia of Artificial Intelligence. Stuart C. Shapiro, editor-in-chief. New York : Wiley, 1992. 2v. Provides an overview of the AI field and related disciplines. Subject(s): Artificial intelligence--Encyclopedias. Encyclopedia
of Chemical Technology
[KIRK-OTHMER] / executive editor, Jacqueline I.
Kroschwitz ; editor, Mary Howe-Grant. 4th ed. New York :
Wiley, c1991-<c1998 > v.1-25 Q: How would you search for sources of air contaminants. This multi-volume work has a detailed Index volume. Look up under AIR related terms, such as airborne emissions (from waste combustion), air conditioners, air filters, air pollution, liquid air (see cryogenics), wastes, industrial, etc. For instance, an article on air pollution is in volume 1 on page 711. AIR POLLUTION, 1:711 Note that the Encyclopedia contains detailed articles which are signed and include bibliographies. This particular article is 35 pages long and contains tables, illustrations, and other graphical material. An article on air contaminants is listed under wastes, industrial, in volume 24, page 235. Q: Can you find data on uses of vitamine D? Encyclopedia
of Computer Science.
Editors: A. Ralston, E. D. Reilly. 3rd ed. New York : Van
Nostrand Reinhold, 1993. A basic one-volume reference work for the non-specialist who needs an elaboration of subjects in the computer science field. The volume has an index. Q: How would you search for articles on multimedia? Mouse? Natural language processing? Consult an Index in back of the volume. For example, articles about multimedia are found under computer animation and personal computing. All articles are signed, include references, as well as figures and other graphical material. Encyclopedia
of Energy Technology and the
Environment
/ Attilio Bisio, Sharon Boots, editors. New York : Wiley,
1995. 4 v. Q: Any information on activated sludge? Index will show that there are 2 articles on this topic: Activated sludge, 9-10, 2848-2849 The article on page 9 is written by Raymond Regan of the Pennsylvania State University; writing style is popular and the reader is referred to look under water quality: issues, water quality management. Articles are signed and contain references. Encyclopedia
of Fluid Mechanics.
Cheremisinoff, Nicholas P., ed. Houston: Gulf Publishing,
1986- . 10v. Supplement, 1993 / Cheremisinoff, N.P. in
collaboration with N.N. Abdulla ... [tet al]. Encyclopedia
of Polymer Science and
Engineering
/ editorial board, Herman F. Mark ... {et al.} ;
editor-in-chief, Jacqueline I. Kroschwitz. 2nd ed. New York
: Wiley, c1985- . Each volume contains table of contents. Last volume has an index for the entire work. So, if you wished to find an article on cosmetic applications, the index will point to the Index volume, page 18. Encyclopedia of technology: plastics, resins, rubbers, fibers. Editorial board: Herman F. Mark, chairman, Norman G. Gaylord, executive editor, Norbert M.Bikales, editor. New York, Interscience Publishers {1964- .} 16 volumes. Subject(s): Polymers--Dictionaries. McGraw-Hill
concise encyclopedia of science & technology
/
Sybil P. Parker, ed. in chief. 2nd ed. New York :
McGraw-Hill, 1989. McGraw-Hill
encyclopedia of science & technology: an international
reference work in twenty volumes including an
index.
7th ed. New York : McGraw-Hill, c1992. v.1-20.
Subjects(s): Q: How extensive is the an article on quarks? The
Merck index : an encyclopedia of chemicals, drugs, and
biologicals.
Whitehouse Station, N.J.: Merck, 1889. 1 v. 12th ed., 1996.
Subject(s): A source for brief information about all types of chemicals and drugs. It started as a list of products marketed by the Merck Company (1889). Since then, the Merck Index has evolved into a comprehensive work. Start with its Index since cross references do not exist in the body of the text. The Merck Index includes references to patents and journal articles describing the preparation of the chemcial / drug. The water encyclopedia. Van der Leeden, Frits, Fred L. Troise and David Keith Todd. 2 nd ed. Chelsea, Mich. : Lewis Publishers, c1990. The
second edition of the Encyclopedia contains over 600 tables
and 100 illustrations; it includes informaiton on climates,
hydrology, surface and ground water, water quality,
management, environmental problems, agencies and
legislature.Susbject(s): Q: You want to see distribution of shellfish-growing waters in specific states in U.S. Consult Index in back; look under shellfish-growing waters, classification of. It will refer you to page 5-9 where you will see Table (7-21) which gives a classification of shellfish-growing waters in the United States. Van
Nostrand Reinhold encyclopedia of
chemistry.
4th ed. Douglas M. Considine, editor-in-chief. NY: Van
Nostrand Reinhold, 1984. John Wiley & Sons is the publisher of their upcoming technical publication, the 22-volume "Wiley Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering" (ed. John G. Webster). The
"Encyclopedia" will be the most comprehensive in its fields,
containing over 1300 articles -- each written by an expert
in his or her area -- and covering topics ranging from
applied superconductivity to oceanic engineering. In
addition, Wiley will allow purchasers of the Print Version
free access to a searchable Online Version that will
eventually include engineering applications and programs as
well as animation. |