Science and Health Science Documents

Related Pages: Health and Medical Collection | Science Information

State and Federal government documents provide a wealth of information in the disciplines of science, health sciences and technology. The following examples of the types, sources and kinds of information available in the State Library's document collections indicate the depth and diversity of subject matter and the potential usefulness of this information.

Types of Federal Documents

legislative, judicial and executive agency documents resulting from the process of government, such as laws, regulations, and hearings
technical reports
agency research journals, annual reports, bulletins and newsletters
abstracts, indexes, and bibliographies
handbooks, manuals and guides
Federal and military specifications and standards
patents
statistical information
maps

Representative Sources

National Technical Information Service
National Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly the National Bureau of Standards)
National Science Foundation
National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health
Centers for Disease Control (including the Center for Health Statistics)
Environmental Protection Agency
Armed Forces
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Department of Energy

Some Subjects Covered

computer science
electricity and electronics
civil and structural engineering
the environment, including weather, climate, pollution and radioactivity
wildlife biology and habitats
agriculture and food science
geological topics, including minerals, earthquakes and seismic engineering, and geomagnetic data
water and flood control studies
mental and physical health

Potential Uses

A technical company manager might search the CASSIS index to U.S. Patents for a new product line.
A business manager might discover an appropriate government contracting opportunity in Commerce Business Daily.
A zoologist might consult the Antarctic Bibliography.
A land development engineer might use U.S. Geological Survey maps
A physician might search Index Medicus, a comprehensive index to the world's health literature, or its electronic equivalent, MEDLINE.

State and Local Documents

The Library is a depository for New York State documents and holds the publications of many other states as well. State publications cover a broad spectrum of topics similar to those in the Federal documents collections, but with coverage limited to statewide, regional or local concerns. Examples in just one area are the New York State Environmental Conservation Directory; the popular scientific journal, The Conservationist; the New York Fish and Game Journal; Inland Fishes of New York State, and the Adirondack Lakes Survey.