The UMass Amherst Libraries provide state-of-the-art access to science scholarship from the world's leading database publishers - including ScienceDirect and Thomson Scientific. Library databases are licensed for on-campus access by all and remote access by OIT Account holders. For help with database research, visit or call the Reference Desk (413-545-6741), or use the Ask a Librarian email service.

Database Research Strategy: For journal research on an unfamiliar topic, start with Academic Search Premier (8,600 multidisciplinary journals). For comprehensive research in astronomy, search Inspec. For non-journal research, try these databases. Biography Resource Center provides astronomer biographies. Books24x7 provides software manuals. WorldCat searches library holdings worldwide.

Academic Search Premier
The Library's largest multidisciplinary journal database indexes 8,600 journal titles. Coverage: 1975 to present. Key Content: Broad coverage includes academic journals plus science magazines. Start here if you are studying an astronomy topic for the first time.

ARI Bibliographical Database for Astronomical References (ARIBIB).
Public domain astronomical bibliography of astronomy journal literature. This database is the online version of Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts. Coverage: 1969 to 2000 in reference format. Older literature (1899 - 1968) is based on the printed bibliography Astronomischer Jahresbericht. Key Content: Astronomical journal literature for historical research.

arXiv.org E-Print Archive
Public domain archive and distribution server for research papers. Hosted by Cornell University. Includes preprints in astrophysics, physics, mathematics, and computer science. Coverage: April 1992 to present. Key Content: Forthcoming journal articles in astronomy and astrophysics.

Biography Resource Center
Comprehensive database of biographical information on over 320,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas. Coverage: Varies by publication. Key Content: Biographical profiles of leading astronomers.

Books24x7
Full-text collection of information technology "Referenceware" books from leading publishers including MIT Press, O'Reilly, QUE, Sams, Sybex, and Wiley. Topics covered include networking, programming languages, and desktop applications. Key Content: Computer software manuals and handbooks.

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
Physical properties for organic and inorganic compounds. IR correlation charts. Data related to NMR and UV spectra. Coverage: Current. Key Content: Properties of interstellar molecules.

Digital Dissertations
Comprehensive index to theses and dissertations from U.S. and Canadian universities. Coverage: 1861 to present. Key Content: References to dissertations in astronomy and astrophysics. The first 24 pages of each dissertation are provided in PDF format, from 1997 to present. UMass Amherst dissertations are available in their entirety since 1997.

Education Complete
Comprehensive index to journals in education - primarily secondary and higher education. Coverage: 1986 to present. Key Content: Current information on university-level science education.

INSPEC
Comprehensive index to to the literature of physics, astronomy, astrophysics, electrical engineering, and computer science. Indexes 4,000 journals and 1,000 conferences. Coverage: 1969 to present. Key Content: Online equivalent of Physics Abstracts, Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts and Computer and Control Abstracts.

NASA Astrophysics Data System
Abstract database includes references from the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Group, plus reference from journal and book publishers. Hosted by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Coverage: 1975 to present, some earlier. Key Content: Public domain access to technical literature in space science.

Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science)
Index to 8,000 peer reviewed science journals including all core journals in astronomy and astrophysics. Coverage: 1945 to present. Key Content: Use Science Citation Index to conduct citation research - to identify journal articles that cite a known author or work.

SIMBAD Astronomical Database
Coordinates, observational data, and bibliographical references for 2,800,000 astronomical objects including stars, galaxies, planetary nebulae, clusters, novae and supernovae. Excludes Solar System bodies. SIMBAD Tutorial. Coverage: Released in 1996. Recently open for public access. Key Content: Charts and images of celestial objects.

WorldCat
The WorldCat database searches the combined holdings of 7,000 libraries in the US and Canada. Coverage: Prehistory to the present. Key Content: Library holdings worldwide.