Cowles Library: Biology: Evolution Databases & Other Resources

Databases & Important Resources

Annual Reviews This link opens in a new window Collection of critical reviews written by leading scientists in 40 disciplines within the Biomedical, Life, Physical, and Social Sciences including Economics.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window More than a thousand academic journals and over 1 million images, letters, and other primary sources
Web of Science This link opens in a new window Web of Science, a database that provides quick and powerful access to the world's leading citation databases and sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities research content. (Includes: Grants Index [1953-present], BIOSIS Citation Index [1926-present], KCI-Korean Journal Database [1980-present], Medline [1950-present], Preprints Citation Index [1991-present], ProQuest Dissertations and Abstracts [1637-present], SciELO Citation Index [2002-present], Web of Science Core Collection: Science Citation Index Expanded [1900-present]).

Book Catalog Cowles library's online catalog of books and ebooks.
Journals Direct access to Cowles Library's journal collection. Search by title or browse by subject. Electronic journals are available through this link.

InterLibrary Loan (ILL)

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Free to all Drake faculty, staff, and students. If there are books, book chapters, or articles that we don't have access to at Cowles, we can almost always get access to these items via another library. Order your items through Interlibrary Loan.
WorldCat.org
Search libraries across the country. The "Check for Full Text @ Drake" link will take you to an InterLibrary Loan request form.

Other Resources

Bibliography of Fossil Vertebrates From the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology this covers the indexed published literature of vertebrate paleontology from 1509-1993. "The BFV Online provides interactive access to the SVP's 'Bibliography of Fossil Vertebrates' series. Using the BFV Online, users can specify a search criterion, and receive a formatted list of matching literature references. Results will appear in a new window (users that have activated pop-up blocking in their browser may need to adjust their settings for this to work properly). Queries are formed like taxon = 'Tyrannosaurus'. Detailed instructions are available for writing queries, including complex Boolean statements and the use of pattern-matching."
Biodiversity Heritage Library "Ten major natural history museum libraries, botanical libraries, and research institutions have joined to form the Biodiversity Heritage Library Project. The group is developing a strategy and operational plan to digitize the published literature of biodiversity held in their respective collections. This literature will be available through a global 'biodiversity commons.'"
Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online "This site, directed by John van Wyhe at the University of Cambridge, began in 2002 to assemble all of Darwin’s published and unpublished writings. The result is the largest Darwin resource ever created, with 75,914 pages of searchable text and 184,561 images. With the 150th anniversary of the publication of Origin of Species in 2009, the 70 million users who already visit the site should swell drastically."
Darwin Correspondence Project "Darwin's correspondence provides us with an invaluable source of information, not only about his own intellectual development and social network, but about Victorian science and society in general. They provide a remarkably complete picture of the development of his thinking, throwing light on his early formative years and the years of the voyage of the Beagle, on the period which led up to the publication of The Origin of Species and the subsequent heated debates."
Evolution Resources from the National Academies "This site from the National Academies of Science and Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council showcases their books, reports, articles, etc., about evolution as well as special events concerning evolution. Entries under topics such as Science and Religion, Legal Issues, Definitions, For Educators, and For Business turn out to be excerpts from the few titles listed under the Books and Reports section. These include brochures and scholarly books, some available online and others available for purchase in print and/or PDF format. Content is thin, with much information derived from the National Academies' Science, Evolution, and Creationism (2008). Although the site celebrates Darwin, it contains little about him. A list of Web resources in the Additional Resources section is useful, and includes Understanding Evolution http://evolution.berkeley.edu/ (CH, Jan'09, 46-2814) from the University of California Museum of Paleontology and the National Center for Science Education. This site contains a wealth of textual and audio information about the history of related science and evolutionary theory, including pre-Darwin scholars and a link to Darwin's complete works online, as well as evidence for evolution and its impact on everyday life. Another excellent site is the Public Broadcasting Service's Evolution http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/, which offers excellent content in video and assorted entertaining Web formats, useful for teachers and appealing to students. All three sites have useful educational resources, but the California and PBS sites seem to be much richer in content. Evolution Resources from the National Academies will be useful as a secondary resource." Choice, August 2009.
Fossilworks / Paleobiology Database Fossilworks is a web-based portal to the Paleobiology Database. The PaleoDB is a large compilation of data about fossils. It includes a dynamically integrated master taxonomic classification and site-specific distributional records. Fossilworks adds to it an algorithmically synthesized global geological time scale that enables its query and analysis tools.
Paleontology Portal "Hosted by the University of California's Museum of Paleontology, this site is a selective collection of links to Internet resources on North American paleontology developed by the museum, the Paleontological Society, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, and the US Geological Survey. Although far from comprehensive, it offers a good introduction to paleontology, fossils, and related concepts for a broad audience ranging from K-12 students to professionals. In providing links to a wide range of paleontological resources, it is unique among Web sites related to paleontology. The portal is organized into eight sections: Exploring Time and Space, Fossil Gallery, Famous Fauna and Flora, Careers, Resources, K-12, Collections, and PaleoPeople. Exploring Time and Space includes plate tectonic reconstructions and links to virtual exhibits, research, collections, and resources on each geologic period. Fossil Gallery presents information on and images of North American fossils that users may browse by organism type and geologic time period. Famous Fossils and Flora provides links to information and field guides on significant fossil sites that are linked from a map. Resources contains lists of links to fossil-related Internet sites, such as maps, journals, field guides, general reference works, and information on the history of paleontology. Collections allows professionals to search for fossil specimens in 13 museums. The site search engine locates links to resources and to fossil images. The site also provides RSS feeds for paleontological news and for Web site updates, which are done once or twice a month. The one drawback is the site's focus on Internet resources; a list of recommended print resources, such as books on fossils for children and interested amateurs, would be a useful addition." - L. R. Zellmer, Western Illinois University, from Choice Online
Tree of Life Web Project This attractive and well organized site now containing more than 2600 pages includes contributions from biologists around the world. A goal is to have “information about the evolutionary history and characteristics of all groups of organisms.” Organized phylogenically, one can also search for a particular organism, look at the most recent additions or a randomly selected organism. Developed for professional biologists, the site is also usable by non-biologists.

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Biology: Evolution Databases & Other Resources

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