Online Encyclopedias and Reference
Online Encyclopedias
The following links will take you to online encyclopedias and reference manuals to help you get started on your research. Here you can find general background information, definitions, and history on many geography terms and concepts.
- Merriam-Webster's Geographical DictionaryA comprehensive guide to the key political and physical features of today's world.
- The Dictionary of Human GeographyIncludes short definitional entries (see, for example, the entries for plantation and dry farming) and longer, interpretative essays on human geography and its major sub-fields (such as geopolitics, development, and spatiality), thereby providing readers with a contextual background to the terms. By directing readers to the major sources for further information, the Dictionary also serves as an unparalleled companion to geographical literature.
- The Dictionary of Physical GeographyThis fully-revised comprehensive fourth edition covers the whole field of physical geography including climate and atmosphere, geomorphology, biogeography, hydrology, oceans, Quaternary, environmental change, soils, remote sensing and GIS. This new edition reflects developments in the discipline during the last decade, with the expert advisory group providing an international perspective on the discipline of physical geography.
- Cultural Geography: A Critical Dictionary of Key ConceptsPresents short essays exploring the key concepts in cultural geography.
- Key Concepts and Techniques in GISA concise overview of the fundamental ideas that inform Geographic Information Science. It provides detailed descriptions of the concepts and techniques that anyone using GIS software must fully understand to analyze spatial data.
Print Encyclopedias and Reference
Print Encyclopedias
The library also has a number of print encyclopedias that can be found in the reference section of the library. These books cannot be checked out of the library, but there are scanners available on the second floor that can be used to scan information into a PDF which you can email to yourself. Search the entire library catalog here.
Encyclopedia of Geography by Call Number: Ref. G63.E554 2010Simply stated, geography studies the locations of things and the explanations that underlie spatial distributions. Profound forces at work throughout the world have made geographical knowledge increasingly important for understanding numerous human dilemmas and our capacities to address them.
Encyclopedia of Geographic Information Science by Call Number: G70.212.E53 2008Counter
Geographic information science (GIScience) is an emerging field that combines aspects of many different disciplines. Spatial literacy is rapidly becoming recognized as a new, essential pier of basic education, alongside grammatical, logical and mathematical literacy. By incorporating location as an essential but often overlooked characteristic of what we seek to understand in the natural and built environment, geographic information science (GIScience) and systems (GISystems) provide the conceptual foundation and tools to explore this new frontier.
