About the Browsable Reference Collection
- Books listed on this page are available for browsing anywhere on the 5th floor except the Teahouse
- The 5th floor is open 9am - 5pm Monday through Friday
- Books can also be read in the Roller Reading Room. If you do this, you will need to Register at the Research Desk and follow Reading Room Procedures (fill out registration form, show ID, leave bags, pens in lockers; no food/drink)
- You can request copies from books in the Browsing Collection at the Research Desk.
- Please do not reshelve books
- Drinks are okay on the floor, but food is only permitted in Teahouse.
Book in the Browsable Reference Collection in the 5th floor Reading Nook are shelved by LOC Library of Congress call numbers. On this page, the books are organized in thematic categories as follows:
- Art Books, Atlases, Chronologies & Timelines
- Bibliographies - Specific Aurhors & Texts
- Bibliographies - Garland Series
- Bibliographies - Persons, Places, Topics
- Catalogs - Specific Collections & Libraries
- Companions, Guides & Handbooks for Research - Overviews
- Companions, Guides & Handbooks for Research - Disciplines & Topics
- Companions, Guides & Handbooks for Research - Periods, Places & Cultures
- Encyclopedias & Dictionaries - Biographical
- Encyclopedias & Dictionaries - Concepts & Terms
- Encyclopedias & Dictionaries - Disciplines
- Encyclopedias & Dictionaries - Periods, Places & Cultures
- Encyclopedias & Dictionaries - Topics
- Featured Items
- Methods & Research Tools
- Sourcebooks & Readers - History of Science Series
- Sourcebooks & Readers - Primary Sources
- Sourcebooks & Readers - Secondary Sources
- Surveys & Textbooks
- Very Short Introductions Series
Art Books, Atlases, Chronologies & Timelines
- Album of SciencePublication Date: 1978-1989A notable feature of this multivolume series is the inclusion of images from books, offering a visual perspective on the history of science, technology, and medicine from antiquity to the present.
Antiquity and the Middle Ages
From Leonardo to Lavoisier, 1450-1800
The Nineteenth Century
The Biological Sciences in the 20th Century
The Physical Sciences in the 20th Century - Chronologie Chemie : 1800-1970 byPublication Date: 1977
- A chronology of geological thinking from antiquity to 1899 byPublication Date: 1988
- A chronology of the history of science, 1450-1900 / Robert Mortimer GascoignePublication Date: 1987
- Flight and flying : a chronology byPublication Date: 1994
- Great Discoveries in Medicine byPublication Date: 2011
Bibliographies - Specifc Authors & Texts
- An annotated bibliography on Ibn Sīnā : first supplement (1990-1994)Publication Date: 1999
- A bibliography of LucretiusPublication Date: 1962
- A bibliography of the works of Abūʼl-Rāihān al-Bīrūnī byPublication Date: 1982
- Newton and Newtoniana, 1672-1975: a bibliographyPublication Date: 1977
- Ptolemy's Geography; a select bibliography byPublication Date: 1953
Bibliographies - Garland Series
- The earth sciences : an annotated bibliography / Roy PorterPublication Date: 1983
- The history of biology : a selected, annotated bibliography / Judith A. OvermierPublication Date: 1989
- The history of chemical technology : an annotated bibliography / Robert P. Multhauf.Publication Date: 1984
- The history of electrical technology : an annotated bibliography / Bernard S. FinnPublication Date: 1991
- The history of engineering science : an annotated bibliography / David F. ChannellPublication Date: 1989
- The history of geophysics and meteorology : an annotated bibliography byPublication Date: 1985
- The history of metal mining and metallurgy : an annotated bibliography / Peter M. MolloyPublication Date: 1986
- The history of modern geography : an annotated bibliography of selected works byPublication Date: 1985
- The history of natural history : an annotated bibliography byPublication Date: 1994
- The history of science and technology in the United States : a critical and selective bibliography / Marc RothenbergPublication Date: 1982-19932 volumes
- Medieval science and technology : a selected, annotated bibliography / Claudia KrenPublication Date: 1985
- The scientific revolution : an annotated bibliography byPublication Date: 1996-05-09
- William Cooper's A catalogue of chymicall books, 1673-88 / [edited by] Stanton J. LindePublication Date: 1987
Bibliographies - Persons, Places, Topics
- Alchemy in Europe : a guide to research byPublication Date: 1990
- American geological literature, 1669 to 1850 byPublication Date: 1980
- Bibliography of astronomers : books and pamphlets in English by and about astronomers byPublication Date: 1989vol 1
- A bibliography of medical and biomedical biography byPublication Date: 2005
- Bibliography of relativity and gravitation theory, 1921 to 1937Publication Date: 1965
- A bio-bibliography for the history of the biochemical sciences since 1800 byPublication Date: 1982
- Biographies of scientists : an annotated bibliography byPublication Date: 1998
- Bibliography of mediaeval Arabic and Jewish medicine and allied sciences byPublication Date: 1971
- British natural history books, 1495-1900 : a handlist byPublication Date: 1980
- Electricity, magnetism, and animal magnetism : a checklist of printed sources, 1600-1850 byPublication Date: 1975
- The history of British geology; a bibliographical study byPublication Date: 1971
- The history of science : an annotated bibliography byPublication Date: 1992
- International bibliography of the history of legal medicine byPublication Date: 1974
- Reference books for the historian of science : a handlist byPublication Date: 1982
- The Relations of Literature and Science byPublication Date: 1987
- Scientists since 1660 : a bibliography of biographies byPublication Date: 1997
- Thornton and Tully's Scientific Books, Libraries and Collectors byISBN: 1859282334Publication Date: 2000 4th edition
- Women and Technology: an annotated bibliography byPublication Date: 1993
- Women and science : an annotated bibliography byPublication Date: 1996
Catalogs - Specific Collections & Libraries
Companions, Guides & Handbooks for Research - Overviews
- Cambridge History of Science series: Print editionPublication Date: 2002-2009This series presents essays by specialists on the state of research in key topic areas within period-specific volumes.
Cambridge History of Science Volumes (Online access)
v2 Medieval Science
v3 Early Modern Science
v4 Eighteenth-Century Science
V5 Physical and Mathematical Sciences
V6 Modern Biological and Earth Sciences
v7 Modern Social Sciences
- Companion to the history of modern science byPublication Date: 1990
- A Companion to the History of Science byPublication Date: 2016
- A guide to the culture of science, technology, and medicine byPublication Date: 1980
- The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science byPublication Date: 2003
- Reader's Guide to the History of Science byPublication Date: 2000
Companions, Guides & Handbooks for Research - Disciplines & Topics
- The Ashgate research companion to women and gender in early modern Europe byPublication Date: 2016
- Astronomy across cultures : the history of non-Western astronomy byPublication Date: 2000
- The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Darwin and Evolutionary Thought byPublication Date: 2013
- The Cambridge History of Travel Writing byPublication Date: 2019
- Companion encyclopedia of the history and philosophy of the mathematical sciences byPublication Date: 19942 volumes
- A companion to American technology byPublication Date: 2005
- A Companion to the History of the Book byPublication Date: 2007
- A Companion to the Philosophy of Technology byPublication Date: 2009
- Cultural geography : a critical dictionary of key concepts byPublication Date: 2005
- A Cultural history of chemistry byPublication Date: 2022vol. 1. in Antiquity -- vol. 2. in the Middle Age -- vol. 3. in the Early Modern Age -- vol. 4. in the Eighteenth Century -- vol. 5. in the Nineteenth Century -- vol. 6. in the Modern Age
- The History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition: An Encyclopedia byPublication Date: 2000
- Mathematics across cultures : the history of non-western mathematics byPublication Date: 2000
- Medicine across cultures : history and practice of medicine in non-Western cultures byPublication Date: 2003
- Nature Across Cultures byPublication Date: 2003
- The Palgrave Handbook of Women and Science Since 1660 byPublication Date: 2022
- Reproduction byPublication Date: 2018
- The Routledge handbook of science and empire byPublication Date: 2021
Companions, Guides & Handbooks for Research - Periods, Places & Cultures
- A Companion to Byzantine Science byPublication Date: 2020
- A Companion to the History of American Science byPublication Date: 2015
- History of science and technology in China v1: The Origins of Sciences in China byPublication Date: 2021
- A history of science in the Netherlands : survey, themes, and reference byPublication Date: 1999
- The Oxford Handbook of Science and Medicine in the Classical World byPublication Date: 2018
Encyclopedias & Dictionaries - Biographical
The DSB
Need info about a particular scientist? A good place to start is with the DSB: Dictionary of Scientific Biography (1970-1980). Entries include:
- basic biographical info
- overview of life and scientific contributions
- bibliography of original works and secondary literature
You can access content of the DSB online in Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography (Online access), which includes materials from the original DSB, as well as the revised edition, the New Dictionary of Scientific Biography (2008).
Concise Dictionary of Scientific Biography (1981) is an abridged edition of the original multivolume set.
General
- The biographical dictionary of scientists byPublication Date: 1994
- The Biographical Dictionary of Scientists byPublication Date: 2000 3d edition
Disciplines, People, Periods, Places & Topics
- African American firsts in science & technology byPublication Date: 1999
- American entomologists byPublication Date: 1971
- American women in science : a biographical dictionary byPublication Date: 1994
- Biographical dictionary of psychology byPublication Date: 1997 edition
- Biographical Dictionary of Women Healers byPublication Date: 2002
- Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science byPublication Date: 2000
- The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers byPublication Date: 20072 volumes
Also available as Ebook
- Biographical index to American science : the seventeenth century to 1920 byPublication Date: 1990
- British physiologists 1885-1914 : a biographical dictionary byPublication Date: 1991
- Contributions of African American Scientists to the Fields of Science, Medicine, and Inventions byISBN: 9781607413196Publication Date: 2009
- Encyclopedia of Ancient Natural Scientists byPublication Date: 2011
- European immigrant women in the United States : a biographical dictionary byPublication Date: 1994
- Jewish medical practioners in the medieval Muslim world : a collective biography byPublication Date: 2021
- Maps and map-makers byPublication Date: 1982 printing (1978)
- The Newton handbook byPublication Date: 1986
- Women botanists of Ohio : born before 1900 : with reference calendars from 1776 to 2028 byPublication Date: 1952
- Women in Chemistry and Physics byPublication Date: 1993
Encyclopedias & Dictionaries - Concepts & Terms
- The Arabic Manuscript Tradition byPublication Date: 2001
- British weights & measures : a history from antiquity to the seventeenth century byPublication Date: 1977
- A dictionary of named effects and laws in chemistry, physics and mathematics byPublication Date: 1970
- Dictionary of the history of science byPublication Date: 1981
Encyclopedias & Dictionaries - Disciplines
- History of Astronomy: An Encyclopedia byPublication Date: 1997
- Sciences of the Earth: An Encyclopedia of Events, People, and Phenomena byPublication Date: 19982 volumes
Encyclopedias & Dictionaries - Periods, Places & Cultures
- Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures byPublication Date: 1997
Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Medicine and Technology in Non-Western Cultures (Online Access)
- The encyclopedia of the Middle Ages byPublication Date: 1999
- Encyclopedia of the Scientific Revolution byPublication Date: 2000
Encyclopedia of the Scientific Revolution (Online access)
- Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine byPublication Date: 2005
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam byPublication Date: 20142 volumes
Encyclopedias & Dictionaries - Topics
- The Cambridge Historical Dictionary of Disease byPublication Date: 2003
- A Dictionary of Fabulous Beasts byPublication Date: 1975
- Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism byPublication Date: 2006
- Encyclopedia of Exploration byPublication Date: 2004
- An historical dictionary of the Darwin controversy byPublication Date: 2005
- Instruments of Science byPublication Date: 1997-12-01
- Metalworking through history : an encyclopedia byPublication Date: 2009
- The Routledge Research Companion to Nineteenth-Century British Literature and Science byPublication Date: 2017
- Shakespeare and Science byPublication Date: 2022
Featured Items
- Galileo Goes to Jail byPublication Date: 2009
- Galileo's Daughter byPublication Date: 2011
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks byPublication Date: 2011
- Ingenious Pursuits byPublication Date: 2000
- The Intelligibility of Nature byPublication Date: 2006
- Inventing the Flat Earth byPublication Date: 1997 edition
- The Invention of Nature byPublication Date: 2016
- A Little History of Science byPublication Date: 2012
- The Mechanization of the World Picture, copy 2 byPublication Date: 1961
Methods & Research Tools
- An Introduction to Science and Technology Studies byPublication Date: 2009
- An Introduction to the Historiography of Science byPublication Date: 1987
Sourcebooks & Readers - History of Science Series
- From Frege to Godel; a source book in mathematical logic, 1879-1931Publication Date: 1967
- A source book in animal biology byPublication Date: 1970
- A Source book in astronomy and astrophysics, 1900-1975 byPublication Date: 1979
- A source book in chemistry, 1400-1900 byPublication Date: 1968
- Source book in chemistry, 1900-1950 byPublication Date: 1968
- A source book in classical analysis byPublication Date: 1973
- A Source book in geography byPublication Date: 1978
- Source book in geology, 1900-1950 byPublication Date: 1967
- A Source book in mathematics, 1200-1800 byPublication Date: 1986
- Source Book in Medieval SciencePublication Date: 1974
- A Source Book in the History of Psychology byPublication Date: 1965
Sourcebooks & Readers - Primary Sources
- British scientific literature in the seventeenth century byPublication Date: 1970
- Evolution and creationism : a documentary and reference guide byPublication Date: 2007
- Gender and Sexuality in the Middle Ages: a medieval source documents reader byPublication Date: 2005
- Greek and Roman technology : a sourcebook of translated Greek and Roman texts byPublication Date: 2020
- The Jewish Alchemists: a history and source book byPublication Date: 1994
- Literature and Science, 1660-1834 byPublication Date: 2003v. 1. Science as polite culture
v. 2. Sciences of body and mind
v. 3. Earthly powers
v. 4. Flora
v. 5. Fauna
v. 6. Astronomy
v. 7. Natural philosophy
v. 8. Chemistry - Medicine and Healing in the Premodern West byPublication Date: 2019
- Medieval Medicine: a reader byPublication Date: 2010-
- Medieval warfare : a reader byPublication Date: 2019
- Muslim and Christian Contact in the Middle Ages byPublication Date: 2009
- Sourcebook in the Mathematics of Medieval Europe and North Africa byPublication Date: 2016
Sourcebooks & Readers - Secondary Sources
- The Postcolonial Science and Technology Studies Reader byPublication Date: 2011
- Queer Feminist Science Studies byPublication Date: 2017
- Science Studies Reader byPublication Date: 1999
- Women, science, and technology : a reader in feminist science studies byPublication Date: 2014
Surveys & Textbooks
- The Beginnings of Western Science byPublication Date: 2007
- Early Greek Science byPublication Date: 1974
- Greek Science after Aristotle byPublication Date: 1973
- Making Modern Science byPublication Date: 2005
- Science and Religion byPublication Date: 2017
- The Western medical tradition : 800 BC to AD 1800 byPublication Date: 1995
- The Western Medical Tradition : 1800 to 2000 byPublication Date: 2006
Very Short Introduction Series
- American Immigration byPublication Date: 2011
- Aristotle byPublication Date: 2000
- Copernicus byPublication Date: 2016
- Eugenics byPublication Date: 2017
- Galileo byPublication Date: 2001
Galileo: A Very Short Introduction (Online access)
- Globalization byPublication Date: 2009
- Heredity byPublication Date: 2017
- The History of Astronomy byPublication Date: 2003
- The History of Chemistry byPublication Date: 2016
- The History of Mathematics byPublication Date: 2012
- The History of Medicine byPublication Date: 2008
- The History of Physics byPublication Date: 2018
- The Industrial Revolution : a very short introduction byPublication Date: 2017
- Infinity byPublication Date: 2017-07-23
- Magic byPublication Date: 2012
- Navigation : a very short introduction byPublication Date: 2017
- Newton byPublication Date: 2007
- Numbers byPublication Date: 2011
- Philosophy of Science byPublication Date: 2016
- Plato byPublication Date: 2003
- Presocratic Philosophy byPublication Date: 2004
- Science and Religion byPublication Date: 20082009 Dingle Prize Winner (British Society for the History of Science)
- Scientific Revolution byPublication Date: 2011
- War and Technology byPublication Date: 2016
Mary Anning Exhibit Books
- Dinosaur lady : the daring discoveries of Mary Anning, the first paleontologist byPublication Date: 2020
- Earth's deep history : how it was discovered and why it matters byPublication Date: 2016
- The evolution of paleontological art byPublication Date: 2022
- Fossil hunter : how Mary Anning changed the science of prehistoric life byPublication Date: 2022
- The fossil woman : a life of Mary Anning byPublication Date: 2021
- Jurassic Mary : Mary Anning and the primeval monsters byPublication Date: 2014 pb edition
- Mary Anning's Curiosity byPublication Date: 2017
- Paleontology: an illustrated history byPublication Date: 2022
- The practice of British geology, 1750-1850 byPublication Date: 2002
- Remarkable Creatures byPublication Date: 2016
- Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning of Lyme Regis byPublication Date: 2007
- Women and geology : who are we, where have we come from, and where are we going? byPublication Date: 2018
- Women in science : 50 fearless pioneers who changed the byPublication Date: 2016
- Women in Science: 100 Postcards byPublication Date: 2017
- Worlds before Adam : the reconstruction of geohistory in the age of reform byPublication Date: 2008