This selection of specialized resources in Chemistry is designed to help you navigate through the wealth of information in Fondren's collections. It is not a comprehensive list.

Finding Articles

Use indexes to find references to research articles and to other materials such as books, book chapters, dissertations, etc. In some cases, links to the full text are provided. When links are not available, use the E-Journal Portal to find access points for journals in electronic format. Some subscriptions are in paper format only; check Webcat to search for journals not found online. For indexes in other subject areas, see Fondren's list of Indexes and Databases.

Beilstein/Gmelin
Special software required.
Accounts are available to Rice University faculty, students and staff. Users' Guides.
The Beilstein organic chemistry database dates from the eighteenth century and consists of over seven million compounds, 10 million chemical reaction references, and 20 million associated chemical, physical, and biological property records. The system also includes some 600,000 abstracts and titles excerpted from the organic chemical literature since 1980. It is updated quarterly. Also included is the Gmelin database, including information on organometallic and inorganic compounds, alloys, glasses, ceramics, and minerals.

SciFinder Scholar (Chemical Abstracts)
Special software requirements.
Accounts are available to Rice University faculty, students and staff.
SciFinder Scholar indexes the literature of chemistry, including journal articles, patents, substance data, chemical reactions, chemical regulatory data, and chemical suppliers. (1907-)

Multidisciplinary Online Indexes

Academic Search Complete (courtesy of Texshare) | includes Full Text
No account or password is necessary.
Provides full text for more than 5,000 scholarly publications covering academic areas of study including social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, and ethnic studies.

Compendex
No account or password is necessary.
Indexes the engineering literature. (1884- )

Dissertations and Theses - A&I | includes Full Text
No account or password is necessary.
Includes citations for masters and doctoral dissertations from 1861 to those accepted as recently as last semester. This database represents the work of authors from over 1,000 North American graduate schools and European universities. The full text of dissertations and theses may also be downloaded free of charge. (Rice, 1918- )

INSPEC
Select Database from menu at upper left.
Provides citations and abstracts to the worldwide literature in physics, electronics and electrical engineering, computers and control, and information technology. Sources include more than 3,500 journals and more than 1,500 conference proceedings, books and reports. (1898- )

MEDLINE (via FirstSearch) | includes Full Text
No account or password is necessary.
Includes more than 4000 journals published internationally, covering all areas of medicine. Medline is prepared by the National Library of Medicine. (1985- )

Scopus | includes Full Text
No account or password is necessary.
Indexes over 15,000 journals, as well as several million web pages, and U.S. and international patents. Database includes article citations from 1996, permits citation tracking, saves searches, and provides email or RSS alerts of new material. The system will export records into major citation managers and prepare a bibliography according to major formats. (1966- )

TOXLINE | includes Full Text
No account or password is necessary.
Offers rapid access to information in all areas of toxicology, including chemicals and pharmaceuticals, pesticides, environmental pollutants, and mutagens and teratogens. (Alternate interface languages include: French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. (1991- )

Toxicology Abstracts | includes Full Text
No account or password is necessary.
Covers issues from social poisons and substance abuse to natural toxins, from legislation and recommended standards to environmental issues. Each issue publishes information concerning the in vivo effects of toxic substances. Toxicity testing methodology and analytical procedures for toxic substances are also covered. Alternate interface languages include: French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean. (1981- )

Web of Knowledge (Web of Science) | includes Full Text
No account or password is necessary.
This is an integrated database of three citation indexes: Science Citation Index (SCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), and Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI). SCI and SSCI have searchable author abstracts and each database may be searched by a variety of other accesses including who the author cites. Includes ISIHighlyCited: a directory of over 250 eminent researchers in life sciences, medicine, physical sciences and social sciences. (SCI 1900- )

Finding Books

WebCat
To locate a book in the Rice University libraries, use this online catalog.

WorldCat
To locate a book that's not in WebCat, use this combined online catalog for over 15,000 libraries worldwide.

Other Libraries' Catalogs
To locate a book at some other local or national library, use this link.

Interlibrary Loan
To request a book from some other library, fill out the form on the library's Document Delivery website. This free service is available to only Rice students, faculty, and staff.

Finding Data

Databases, Encyclopedias, and Handbooks

Cambridge Structural Database System
Special account requirements.
Accounts are available to only Rice University faculty, students and staff.
Records bibliographic, 2D chemical and 3D structural results from crystallographic analysis of organics, organometallics and metal complexes. Both X-ray and neutron diffraction studies are included for small and medium-sized compounds containing up to ca. 500 atoms (including hydrogens).

Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry II, From Biology to Nanotechnology
QD474 .C65 2004 - Reference Collection
Surveys new developments in more than 200 newly commissioned chapters with an emphasis on current trends in biology, materials science, and other areas of contemporary scientific interest.

Comprehensive Natural Products Chemistry
QD415 .C63 1999 - Reference Collection
Collects all aspects of chemistry of natural products. The breakdown of the subject is primarily by class of compounds, connected by common biosynthetic relationships.

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
No account or password is necessary.
Provides tables of chemical and physical data. (88th edition, 2007-2008)

Dictionary of Inorganic Compounds
QD148 .D53 1992 - Reference Collection
Gives fundamental information on more than 42,000 of the most important and useful inorganic compounds. Supplements provide information on newer compounds and revised data on compounds already listed.

Dictionary of Natural Products (CD-ROM)
QD415 .A25 D53 v.11.2 2003 - Reference Desk
Covers over 80,000 organic substances including all natural products contained in the Dictionary of Organic Compounds, Dictionary of Antibiotics, Dictionary of Alkaloids, Dictionary of Drugs, and Dictionary of Terpenoids. Complete descriptions and physical data are included as well as extensive bibliographies.

Dictionary of Organic Compounds
QD246 .D5 1996 - Reference Collection
Gives physical, structural, and bibliographic information for over 150,000 organic compounds.

Dictionary of Organometallic Compounds
QD411 .D53 1995 - Reference Collection
Covers just organometallic compounds giving physical, structural, and bibliographic information.

Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and Design (McKetta)
TP9 .E66 - Reference Collection
Provides information on all aspects of chemical processing and design.

Fieser's Reagents for Organic Synthesis
QD262 .F5 - Reference Collection
Gives structural and physical properties of reagents, including preferred methods of preparation or purification.

Handbook of Data on Organic Compounds
QD257.7 .H36 1994 - Reference Collection
Gives physical, chemical and spectral data for over 25,000 compounds.

Inorganic Crystal Structure Database
No account or password is necessary. Click on Login to access content.
Searchable by author, citation, element, compound and a variety of other measures.

Inorganic Syntheses
No account or password is necessary.
Provides detailed information needed by lab chemists on procedures for the preparation of important and timely inorganic compounds.

International critical tables of numerical data, physics, chemistry and technology
No account or password is necessary.
Contains critical data on inorganic and organic compounds, and pure substances. Featuring physical, thermodynamic, mechanical, and other key properties.

IUPAC-NIST Solubility Data Series Database | includes Full Text
No account or password is necessary.
Represents over 67,500 solubility measurements, compiled from 18 volumes of the IUPAC Solubility Data Series. There are about 1800 chemical substances in the database and 5200 systems, of which 473 have been critically evaluated. The database has over 1800 references.

Kirk-Othmer encyclopedia of chemical technology
No account or password is necessary.
Contains articles on chemical substances, including their properties, manufacturing, and uses. Includes references to seminal patent and journal literature.

Knovel Critical Tables
No account or password is necessary.
Contains tables of physical, solvent, and thermodynamic properties.

Landolt-Börnstein substance - property index
No account or password is necessary.
Lists all substances and their properties which are reported on in the indexed Landolt-Börnstein volumes. In total, 160 000 organic and inorganic compounds are described by names, molecular structures, chemical abstract numbers and other identifiers. Properties are directly linked to the full documents at Springerlink.

The Merck Index : An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals
RS51 .M4 2006 - Reserve Desk
Gives full descriptions of chemicals and drugs that include variant names, trademarks, properties, formulas, and uses.

NIST Chemistry WebBook
No account or password is necessary.
Provides thermochemical, thermophysical, and ion energetics data compiled by the National Institute for Standards and Technology under the Standard Reference Data Program. Another way to access this data and more is through the NIST Data Gateway. For a periodic table and data on the elements see the NIST Physics Laboratory Physical Reference Data.

NTIS [National Technical Information Service]
No account or password is necessary.
Provides full descriptive summaries of more than 750,000 documents and other materials NTIS has received from U.S. Government agencies. It offers unparalleled bibliographic coverage of U.S. government and worldwide government-sponsored research. (1990- )

Organic Syntheses
QD262 .O7 - Reference Collection
For a searchable index, including structure searching see their website.
Provides checked laboratory methods for preparing organic compounds.

PubChem
No account or password is necessary.
Provides information on chemicals such as their descriptors, toxicity, synonyms, physical properties, and more.

Rodd's Chemistry of Carbon Compounds; A Modern Comprehensive Treatise
QD251 .R62 - Reference Collection
Gives comprehensive data on carbon compounds.

Science of Synthesis
No account or password is necessary. Click login button.
Science of Synthesis is the new edition of the classic Houben-Weyl Methods of Organic Chemistry, which has been the first point of reference for organic and organometallic synthetic strategies since 1909.

Dictionaries

Oxford Dictionary of Chemistry
No account or password is necessary.
Covers all the commonly encountered terms in chemistry, including physical chemistry and biochemistry. Gives clear and concise coverage of laboratory techniques, chemical engineering, and environmental matters, plus entries on such topics as buckminsterfullerene, fullerite, quasicrystal, oscillating reaction, and one-pot synthesis.

Directories

ChemExper
No account or password is necessary.
Finds chemical suppliers, along with links to spectra and other chemical data provided in chemical catalogs.

Directory of Chemical Producers: United States of America
TP12 .D5 2007 - Circulation Desk (Reserve)

Style Guides

The ACS Style Guide: Effective communication of scientific information
QD8.5 .A25 2006 (3rd Ed.)
A quick guide to Citing using the ACS style guide, 3rd Ed. (Online)
No account or password is necessary.

Journal Abbreviations

Source Index (Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index, CASSI)
QD1 .A1 A515 1907-2004 - Reference Desk
Lists all periodicals that have ever had an article abstracted for Chemical Abstracts. Gives complete bibliographical information and history of the title. Also, shows library holdings for a title.

For further assistance, contact Bob Sabin by e-mail at sabin @rice.edu or by phone at 713-348-4324

Chemistry guide was compiled with assistance from Sonya Fogg. Updated (2/28/08).