Find books, field guides and maps by searching SearchWorks  

Some possibly helpful subjects might include:

Searching Tips

• Less is more!  If you don't find enough results on cycling of nitrates, instead try nitrogen.
• Expand time or geography. If you don't find enough results onPost-Eocene San Joaquin-Tulare Basins, instead try (mesozioc or paleozoic or precambrain) AND San Joaquin.
• Limit with caution. Certain limiting features may limit your retrieval in ways you don't expect. Some recommended limits are: Source Type, Date, and Limiting to “Peer reviewed” (in Basic and Advanced Search).
• GeoRef search tip: The truncation symbol is an asterisk (*) and the wildcard is a questionmark (?). Using the * on a word will look for ALL possible variations for that word:

environment* will search for environment, environmental, environments …

[*3]magnet* will search for magnetic, demagnetization, geomagnetic, geomagnetism …

geolog*  will search for geology, geologic, and geological

• Remember to use Boolean logic. Use the OR search connector to search for different phrasings. If you use AND and OR search commands in the same search, put parentheses around the OR terms: try (mesozioc or paleozoic or precambrain) AND San Joaquin.

To specify a location, consider your site at different scales. For information about Lake Tahoe, use terms like:

• Lake Tahoe
• Northern Sierra Nevada
• State names (California and Nevada); County names

Also add geologically-related terms:

• tectonics
• stratigraphy
• paleogeography
• mines and mining

And consider both time periods and rock formations:

• Cambrian, Pleistocene, etc.
• Navajo Sandstone

Subject Searching: For a more directed search, do a subject search. In a subject search, you need to use official Library of Congress terminology. This type of language might not seem natural to you, but if you are not having any luck with keywords, it can be quite useful. For example, to find a guide for the Lake Tahoe region, you would type:

• Geology--California--Guidebooks
• Geology--Tahoe, Lake, Region (Calif. and Nev.)--Guidebooks
• Geology--Nevada--Reno Region--Guidebooks

Other "official" subject terms include:

• Geology, Structural
• Faults (Geology)
• Geology, Stratigraphic
• Geology, Stratigraphic--Pleistocene
• Plate tectonics