Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, and Handbooks

Polymer Science Dictionary, 2nd ed.. Chapman and Hall, London, 1997. 

Comprehensive Polymer Science, Pergamon, Oxford, 1989. 

Compendium of Macromolecular Nomenclature, lUPAC, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 

Engineered Materials Handbook, Volume 2 Engineering Plastics, ASM International, Metals Park, OH, 1988. 

Bashford, ed.. Thermoplastics Directory and Databook, Chapman and HaU, London, 1997. 

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In the hard copy world, it was not unusual to have subject-specific encyclopedia sets relegated to a distinct section of the reference area, while handbooks and dictionaries might be found more close at hand around the reference desk. But, just as the availability of full-text journals online has blurred the distinction between indexes and the full-text, the availability of online full-text handbooks, encyclopedias, and dictionaries has blurred the distinction between the three. 

For users who search an online site for a particular topic, it matters little if the needed information is gleaned from a handbook, encyclopedia, or dictionary. It is because the resources have been combined online and because users are more interested in finding information than specifying a type of resource from which to find it, that aU three resources are considered in this section. 

This section provides a select list of classic or standard texts, dictionaries, thesauri, glossaries, directories, handbooks, encyclopedias, databooks, and some new works that provide useful toxicology information. Online versions of some of these works are now being offered via site licensing agreements. The primary focus is on works that have been published or revised within the last several years. For information on texts published prior to 1995, consult Wexler s Information Resources in Toxicology (listed in the previous section). 

If an online collection is not within the budget, then selected hard copy or online editions should be purchased. Using the reviews in Choice or SciTech Book News, or conducting a search in WorldCat can be helpful to determine recent and popular titles in particnlar areas. For example, a WorldCat title search on handbook or mannal or dictionary or encyclopedia and electronics, sorted by publication date, gives a selection of titles that could be added to the collection. 

After consulting these three single-volume references, one would turn to more comprehensive multivolume sources such as the Dictionary of Organic Compounds, Fifth Edition. This dictionary, still known as Heilbron, the name of its former editor, now comprises seven volumes of specific information, with primary literature references, on the synthesis, reactions, and derivatives of more than 50,000 compounds. Rodd s Chemistry of Carbon Compounds, another valuable multivolume work with primary literature references, is organized by functional group rather than in dictionary form. Elsevier s Encyclopedia of Organic Compounds in about twenty volumes is an incomplete reference work on the chemical and physical properties of compounds. It is useful for those areas it covers. References to Elsevier are found in the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. 

Among these reference works with CAS Registry Numbers are the CRC Handbook if Chemistry and Physics, the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, The Merck Index, the USP Dictionary if USAN and International Drug... 

The engineer should be aware of specific handbooks, dictionaries and encyclopedias, indexes and abstracts, standards, journals, specialized guides, and online resources. A comprehensive bibliography of the engineering literature was compiled by Charles Lord and published in 2000. Although... 

Traditionally, these three format types have been part of a library s reference collection. Handbooks present a subject overview and feature an author devised arrangement by subdisciplines within the subject. Encyclopedias cover similar material, but in an alphabetical arrangement. Dictionaries also use an alphabetical arrangement, but usually have more entries with significantly shorter explanations. 

Steel Structures Paint Council, Pittsburgh, PA Ash M, Ash I (1982-1983) Encyclopedia of plastics, polymers, and resins, vols I-III. Chemical Publishing, New York Ash M, Ash I (1996) Handbook of paint and coating raw materials trade name products - chemical products dictionary with trade name cross-references. Ashgate, New York... 

Furia, T. E. (ed.). 1975. Handbook of Food Additives, 2nd ed. CRC Press, Cleveland, OH. Furia, T. E. and N. Bellanca (eds.). 1975. Fe-naroli s Handbook of Flavor Ingredients, 2nd ed., Vol. 1. CRC Press, Cleveland, OH. Ghazanfar, S. A. 1994. Handbook of Arabian Medicinal Plants. CRC. Boca Raton, FL. Glasby, J. S. 1976. Encyclopedia of Antibiotics. Wiley-Interscience, London. Glasby, J. S. 1991. Dictionary of Plants Containing Secondary Metabolites. Taylor Francis, New York. 

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