Subject Guide -- Geography

Geography studies environment, people and location along with their interaction with each other. Geography is an area of academia that is influenced by many other fields of study. Geographers use concepts from other disciplines according to their particular research interests such as sociology, economics, theology, geology and political science to combine them into various research results.

• Companion Encyclopedia of Geography: The Environment and Humankind.  Ref. G 116 .C645 1996
  Covers the interdependence of people and their environment and the involvement of people and their habitat.
• Cities of the World  Ref. G 153.4 .C56 1999
  A compilation of current information on cultural, geographical, and political conditions in the countries and cities.
• The Europa World Year Book  Ref. JN 1 .E85 2005
  A good source of information and statistics on political, economic, and commercial topics arranged by country.
• The International Year Book and Statesmen's Who's Who  Ref. JA 51 .I57 2006
  Good current country information on banking, area and population, currency, finance, industry and commerce.
• Websters New Geographical Dictionary  Ref. G 103.5 .W42 1988
  Concise entries in easy-to-read type provides such quick reference data as location, size (area, population, length of rivers, etc.) key economic characteristics.
• Political Handbook of the World.  Ref. JF 37 .P6 1999
  Essential political information about every country in the world.
• Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations  Ref. G 63 .W67 2004
  The five volumes cover United Nations, Africa, Americas, Asia & Oceania and Europe.
• World Geographical Encyclopedia  Ref. G 63 .E5213 1995
  Five volumes. Explains how each country, region, and continent came to be what it is today.

• Best of the Web: Geography  Ref. G79.5 .L44 2004
  Electronic information resources for Geography.
• Historical Gazetteer of the United States  E154 .H45 2005
  Important source for historical information about the United States
• The Columbia Gazetteer of the World  Ref. G 103.5 .C645 1998
  A valuable source of information for the historical geographer.
• The Statesman's Year Book World Gazetteer  Ref. G 103.5 .P38 1994
  Companion book to the Statesman's Yearbook. Over 400,000 words and 8,000 entries.
• The Weather Almanac  Ref. QC 983 .W38 2004
  A reference guide to weather, climate, and air quality in the United States and its key cities.

You will find a substantial collection of atlases in the Reference Room. They are divided into seven sections: World/Regional, National, Historical, Special, Ocean, Celestial, and U.S. Some representative examples are listed below.

• Rand McNally Commercial Atlas & Marketing Guide  Ref. Atlas G 1019 .R22 2005
• Historical Atlas of the United States  Ref. Atlas G 1201 .S1N3 1988
• The Times Atlas of the Oceans  Ref. Atlas G 2800 .T5 1983
• Concise Atlas of the World  Ref. G 1021 .G417 2002x
• Encyclopedic World Atlas  Ref. G 1021 .C74 2001

• Demographic Yearbook  Ref. HA 17 .D45 1999
  Issued by the United Nations, it is a comprehensive collection of international demographic statistics.
• State and Metropolitan Area Data Book  Ref. HA 202 .S84 1997-98
  A statistical abstract supplement. Gives information in table form.
• The World Factbook Govt Docs Ready  Ref. PrEx 3.15:2002
  Gives descriptive and statistical data on each country's geography, (people, government, economy, communications, etc.). Also available online at http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
• World Facts and Figures  Ref. G 109 .S52 11989
  A unique, authoritative collection of comparative information about cities, countries, and geographic features of the world.

Search: MaagNet (the online catalog)

For search tips and information see Using MaagNet.

Not sure of a topic? Here are a few Library of Congress Subject Headings to get you started:

• Geography—Ancient
• Geography—Ancient
• Geography—Mathemathics
• Economic Geography
• Historical Geography
• Human Geography
• Maps
• Physical Geography
• Political Geography
• Urban Geography

Browse: the collections

Resources in Geography may be found throughout the library: in the Reference Room, in the General and Oversize Collections, in the Serials/Microforms area and in Government Documents (see Building Guide).

• Use the following sections of the Library of Congress Classes for Geography to browse the shelves for books and periodicals. (For a listing of what the initial letters of LC Classes stand for, see the Library of Congress Classification Outline).
  • G — Geography (general), atlases, maps
  • GA — Mathematical geography, cartography
  • GB — Physical Geography
  • GC — Oceanography

• Use the Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) classification to locate items in the Government Documents Collection.

Search: the OhioLINK Central Catalog

For search tips see Search Tips and Information About the OhioLINK Central Catalog.

• Search: Databases, Indexes and Abstracts
  • Search these resources by keyword or subject to find references to journal articles.
  • Alternately, use a Subject Cluster Search to search several databases at one time.
  • Journal articles may be available electronically or on the sixth floor of Maag Library. See Periodical Collections for an overview of how to find articles.
• Browse or search: the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center
  • Search using the Advanced Search Form for more options. See online help for more assistance.
  • Browse electronic journals in the category Earth Sciences.
  • For assistance in searching, see the Science Server Online Help
• Journal articles may be available electronically or on the sixth floor of Maag Library. See Periodical Collections for an overview of how to find articles.

• Academic Search Premier
  A multidisciplinary database that indexes over 4300 periodicals and contains full text for over 3400 scholarly publications. For assistance in searching, use online help or Ask a Librarian.
• GeoRef
  References to journal articles concerning Physical Geography. Includes references to the geology of North America from 1785 to date and the geology of the rest of the world from 1933 to date. Includes links to some full text. For assistance in searching, use online help or Ask a Librarian.
• Humanities Abstracts
  Previous years available as Humanities Index (1974- ), Social Sciences and Humanities Index (1965-1974), and International Index to Periodicals (1907-1974). Author and subject entries arranged in one alphabet, includes book reviews. For assistance in searching, use online help or Ask a Librarian.
• National Geographic Index Ref. G 1 .N27 1888-1988
  An index to 100 years of articles in the popular magazine.
• Social Sciences Citation Index
  It is a multidisiplinary database, with searchable author abstracts, covering the journal literature of the sciences. For assistance in searching, use online help or Ask a Librarian.
• Social Sciences Index
  Previous years available as Social Sciences and Humanities Index (1965-1974), and International Index to Periodicals (1907-1974). Includes political science, economics and law.

• Local Climatological Data
  Provides local climatological data ( temperature, precipitation, wind speed, etc.) for the last eight years.
• Geography
  About.com site with maps, a weekly quiz, census information and much more.
• Geography World
  An extensive site with seventy-five (75) sites available, covering all aspects and levels of geography.
• Maps and References
  Interactive maps, atlases, images, animations, map libraries and tutorials about maps and map making.
• Google Local
  Clear maps, driving directions and aerial photos of places across the United States.
• YSU Geography Department