Featured article

The Petabyte Age: Because More Isn't Just More - More Is Different. Wired.com says: "Sensors everywhere. Infinite storage. Clouds of processors. Our ability to capture, warehouse, and understand massive amounts of data is changing science, medicine, business, and technology. As our collection of facts and figures grows, so will the opportunity to find answers to fundamental questions. Because in the era of big data, more isn't just more. More is different."
(from Wired magazine, July 2008 issue)

recent science books

(for the latest science books every month, click here)

Follies of Science: 20th Century Visions of Our Fantastic Future, by Eric Dregni & Jonathan Dregni.
"The early 20th century's futuristic utopian plans for home and work - all here in vivid colour. Promises for the future were made; some sadly broken and some unfortunately honoured. While society didn't get household jetpacks and personal robots, we did get things like the super-fantastic building materials of the future - asbestos, lead and foam." (Amazon)

Wholly Irresponsible Exploits: 65 Ways to Muck About with Science, by Sean Connolly.
"A sequel to Sean Connolly's "Wholly Irresponsible Experiments", this title features awe-inspiring experiments demonstrating the magic of science. It is perfect for fans of "The Dangerous Book for Boys". You are the scientist, your home is the laboratory - create some good honest mayhem in the name of progress! It's time for a return to the weirdest lab imaginable - your own kitchen and back garden. Science meets the imagination." (Amazon.co.uk)

Rough Guide to the Universe , by John Scalzi.
"Whether you're a novice or a more experienced astronomer, "The Rough Guide to The Universe" is indispensable. The truth may or may not be out there, but space is the place to look, and "The Rough Guide to the Universe" takes it all in, from our own moon to the furthest frontiers of the known universe - and then speculates about what lies beyond. This fascinating guide is not meant to delve too deeply; instead it gives the reader the grounding needed to appreciate the night sky." (Amazon)

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finding science books in the library

500	Natural sciences
510	Maths
520	Astronomy
530	Physics
540	Chemistry
550	Earth Sciences
560	Paleontology
570	Life sciences
580	Botany
590	Zoology
600	Applied Sciences & Technology
610	Medicine
620	Engineering & Electronics

At Central Library, science books are on the 1st floor. If in doubt, search the catalogue; if you need further assistance, ask one of our library staff members next time you visit or email us.

biographies

If you want a biography of a scientist, the library catalogue will give you the location. Here are some selected biographies grouped by specialisation:

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magazines

Science magazines are held on the 1st floor of Central Library, and all branches have a small collection of popular titles. You can search for articles in our mygateway.info science databases. We keep back-issues of many magazines, eg Scientific American (1878-1908, 1927- ).

magazines you can borrow:
General Astronomy Australasian Science Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Cosmos Discover Natural History New Scientist New Zealand Mathematics Magazine New Zealand Science Review Physics Today Popular Science Science Scientific American Sky and Space Sky and Telescope Southern Stars (Inc. RAS newsletter) Weatherwise	Animals & the environment Audubon BBC Wildlife Clean Air Ecologist Ecos Forest & Bird Futurist Greenpeace Habitat: Australia International Wildlife (ceased) Nature (to 14th December, 2006)(ceased) Nature Australia (ceased) Our Planet (to 1996) Sierra Wildlife Australia WWF New Zealand

databases & science mags online

We have many science magazines available for full text reading online through mygateway.info.
EBSCO magazines include Astronomy, BioScience, Discover, Nature (12 month full text delay), National Geographic (3 month full text delay), New Scientist (6 month full text delay), Science (12 month full text delay) and Scientific American.
(Links require that you have logged into EBSCO recently, if error occurs click here)

ProQuest Science Journals cover chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering, physics, transportation, astronomy, biology, earth science, and more.

You can find more science links in mygateway.info.

science magazine websites - a selection:

National Geographic
Nature
New Scientist
Science News

This month in Science History: August

2nd 1870- Tower Subway opens as the worlds first underground tube railway in London.
2nd 1932- The positron is discovered by Carl D. Anderson.
5th 1914- The first electric traffic light is installed in Cleveland, Ohio.
7th 1944- IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (Harvard Mark I).
8th 1576- The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on Hven.
10th 1675- The foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London was laid.
10th 1846- The Smithsonian Institution is Chartered.
12th 1981- The IBM Personal Computer is released.
12th 1990- Sue, the most complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex is discoverd near Faith, South Dakota.
18th 1877- Asaph Hall discovers the Martian moon Phobos.
22nd 1989- The first ring of Neptune is discovered.
24th 79AD- Mount Vesuvius erupts burying the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae.
24th 2006- The International Astronomical Union redifine the term planet.
25th 1609- Galileo Galilei demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.
27th 1859- Oil discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania. World's first successful oil well.
30th 1909- Burgess Shale fossils discovered by Charles Doolittle Walcott.

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websites

Featured websites:

UNC Minerals in thin section - minerals under a microscope and their different optical properties.
WebElements Periodic Table

general:

mygateway.info Science: Our information gateway to reliable information on the Net relating to Science, including our subscriber databases.
Science Daily: Breaking news about the latest discoveries and hottest research projects in everything from astrophysics to zoology.
SciTech Daily: Links to science-related articles from around the Internet
Intute: The UK gateway to Science, Engineering and Technology. It covers the physical sciences, engineering, computing, geography, mathematics and environmental science.
Environmental Ethics: Directory of unannotated links to general environmental ethics Web resources.
The Why Files: The science behind today's news headlines.
Smithsonian Institution: Science & Technology
Librarians Index to the Internet: Science Topics
Yahoo! Science and Biology
Google Directory: Biology and Botany
New Zealand birds

new zealand:

Te Puna Web Directory - New Zealand Science & Technology
IndexNZ.com science links
GNS Science
Latest NZ earthquake
NIWA: National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research

women and science:

science can be fun!:

Live chemistry
Insanely great science websites
Who is Sue? The world's largest and best preserved T.Rex
HotAIR" Tidbits from the Annals of Improbable Research (AIR), featuring winners of the annual Ig Nobel Prize for "for achievements that cannot or should not be reproduced."
World Flood Map: Raise sea level up to 14m and see if your house gets flooded

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Our own Kids Catalogue Web has great links to our science books and recommended websites

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finding science books in the library

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magazines

magazines you can borrow:

databases & science mags online

science magazine websites - a selection:

This month in Science History: August

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websites

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science can be fun!:

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