COLLECTIONS:

Special Collections

University Archives

Collection Preservation

Research Collections:
Biology Collection

Collection  Overview
The aim is to build a collection that meets the needs and requirements of research and teaching faculty in the Biology Department, graduate (doctoral and master's) and undergraduate students, the Sonntag Institute for Cancer Research, the premedical program, and the general interests of the Boston College community.

Research in the Biology Department revolves around molecular cell biology and genetics, neurobiology, developmental biology and physiology, and structural biology and cellular biochemistry. Hence, journals constitute the bulk of our current collections strength. More and more of our journals are being made available electronically to our users. The general needs of our users in other areas of life sciences are met at the undergraduate level.

Resource sharing in the form of membership in regional and national organizations like the Boston Library Consortium will increasingly play a signficant role in collection development. As access to resources and document delivery become easier and faster due to advances in technology, we will depend more and more on Interlibrary Loan, facsimile transmission, purchase of articles, electronic and on-demand publication and retrieval. Reference sources continue to be acquired for the B.C. Libraries as valuable research tools.

Syed Khan
Biology Bibliographer
617-552-4450
E-Mail: khans@bc.edu

Selected Resources

In the O'Neill Library:

• Extensive holdings in biological research journal literature.

• Indexes & abstracts:

  • Biological Abstracts and Biological Abstracts/RRM

  • Index Medicus

  • Excerpta Medica

  • Genetics Abstracts

  • Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings

  • Chemical Abstracts

On the Web (Restricted to the BC Community):

• Indexes to the literature:  BIOSIS Previews

• General indexes and tables of contents services:

  • Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded)

  • Current Contents Connect

  • Uncover Reveal

• Gateways to full text electronic journals: Springer LINK, Wiley InterScience.  See also the Boston College Electronic Journals list.

• Other databases in the sciences: Subject Indexes to Online Databases: Sciences.  This web page also has links to other subject lists of databases.

Research Guides
More information about available resources can be found in the following resource guides: Research Guide: Biology.

Interdisciplinary Elements of  Subject Area
Collection development for biology involves coordination with other disciplines in the School of Arts and Sciences and some programs in the Schools of Education and Nursing. The interdisciplinary subjects include bioethics, biochemistry, biophysics, environment, health & nutrition, history & philosophy of science, natural history, psychology and scientific biographies.

Formats and Types of Materials
Research journals and serials constitute the bulk of the collection.  Advanced level monographs and some textbooks are also collected.  Conference proceedings, technical reports, government documents, and dissertations are acquired as  needed.  A growing number of resources are becoming available in both print and electronic formats; decisions to collect in one or the other format (or both) are made on a title by title basis.

Languages
English is the language of choice.

Geographic  Areas (Subject  Approach)
The major focus is on North American and West European materials. However, there is no geographic limitation on collection  development.

Time  Periods (Subject  Approach)
Current developments in biological  sciences are emphasized.

Dates  of  Publication
Recent publications are collected. Older titles are acquired on demand.

Subject Areas Collected by Library of Congress Classification Number
BCAT, the online catalog, can be searched by LC classification number to get a better idea of what specific titles the biology collection contains.  For example, the command c=QH426 will produce the beginning of a list of works on genetics.  This list can be browsed by pressing the F8 key or typing f and pressing the Enter/Return key.

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