Welcome to the UCL Library Services subject guide to Science and Technology Studies. The content is regularly revised and feedback or suggestions are welcomed. The printed collections in UCL Library Services are described below. There is also information about:
Training
Regular training sessions on electronic library resources are held in the Library. For details see Information Skills Training. Individual training sessions on specific databases and other electronic resources can be arranged on request.
WISE for Built Environment, Engineering, Maths and Physical Sciences is an online guide to finding and using information effectively. Go to UCL Moodle, and log in with your UCL userid and password. Click on WISE and select Built Environment, Engineering, Maths and Physical Sciences to start the course.
The principal collection for STS is the HISTORY OF SCIENCE collection
on the 3rd floor of the Science Library. There may be relevant material elsewhere in the Science
Library and in the Main Library.
Book collections
The HISTORY OF SCIENCE collection is divided into several sections, a brief breakdown of these:
HISTORY OF SCIENCE A - Introductions to the history of science
HISTORY OF SCIENCE B-J - History of Science by period
HISTORY OF SCIENCE K-U - History of specific scientific disciplines
HISTORY OF SCIENCE
W - Philosophy of science
HISTORY OF SCIENCE Y - Science and society
Some of the other sections of the Library you might need are:
PHILOSOPHY (Main Library, Donaldson reading room)
CLASSICS (Main Library, North, 1st floor)
HISTORY (Main Library, South, 2nd floor)
Use Explore to find the exact class mark (shelf location) of a book.
For some older material and scientific sources see the SCIENCE COLLECTED WORKS (Science Library, ground floor);
multi-volume collections of the works of some important scientists.
Journal collections
The library holds both print and electronic journals (periodicals). Journals cannot be borrowed but may be photocopied, subject to copyright. Most of the journals relevant to STS are
kept in the PHYSICAL SCIENCES Pers section on the third floor of the Science Library. Older journals and those which are also available electronically are held in the library store. These can be requested via the Store Request Form.
Use Explore to search for journals the library has access to (select UCL journals in the resource list). Explore also allows you to search for articles within some journals (select Journals articles). Contents of journals can also be searched via indexes and abstracts.
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Material in electronic form is available to registered members of UCL. Users are advised to access these resources via the links from the UCL Library website. If you are off-site, you will be prompted for your UCL userid and password.
Indexes and abstracts
The following are relevant to STS. For a complete list of databases available at UCL, see the A-Z list.
History of science:
- Web of Science (Science
Citation Index) indexes over 6000 science
journals from 1981 onwards. The Web of Science help pages offer useful tips on effective search strategies.
- History of Science, Technology and Medicine indexes
journal articles, conference proceedings, books and dissertations in the
history of science, technology and medicine from 1975 onwards.
- Historical Abstracts is
a bibliography of world history, excluding USA and Canada, from 1450 to the
present, indexing books, journals
and dissertations.
Philosophy of science:
Social studies of science:
Additionally, for biomedical topics, you may wish to use:
- Embase indexes
biomedical and pharmacological journals.
- PubMed indexes biomedical literature, including all data from the Medline database from
the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the US National
Library of Medicine (NLM).
MetaLib can display a full list of indexing & abstracting services. For further information see our online guide.
Electronic journals
To look for a specific title, go to the A-Z list from the Library's Metalib pages. Earth Science titles can be browsed by selecting the subject tab from the same page.
Journal titles can be searched for using Explore (select UCL journals in the resource list). Explore also allows you to search for articles within some journals (select Journals articles).
Exam papers
E versions of past exam papers can be found by searching here. Paper copies of exam papers for the current year for all Main and Science Library subjects are shelved in the Photocopying Room of the Main Library. Older papers are available in printed format and are kept in Stores. These can be requested by clicking here.
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The Senate House Library in Malet Street has some relevant collections, especially of
journals. Any registered member
of UCL can join the Library and borrow from there.
The joint library of Imperial
College and the Science Museum has an excellent collection
of STS material. It is available for reference use by any member of UCL,
but only academic
staff and research postgraduates
may
borrow from there. (Note that much of the Science Museum's older material does
not appear on the online catalogue; although staff at the Museum will check
the card catalogue for you on request).
The Wellcome Trust Library has excellent
collections in the history
and philosophy of the life sciences and is open to the public.
The British Library is
a useful resource and all UCL staff and students can apply directly for reference
access. You will need to bring indentification showing proof of address (e.g.
utility bill), proof of signature (e.g. driving
licence) and proof of student or research status (UCL ID card) in order to
obtain a reader's pass.
See UCL's guide to using Other Libraries for more information.
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The Library contact for Science and Technology Studies is Vicky Webb, based in Room 314 of the Science Library. Tel: extension 32634 or 020 7679 2634.
Please contact us if you have any questions regarding the collections and library resources. For further information or to arrange individual training sessions email lib-sciteam@ucl.ac.uk.
See the Science Library blog: Library news for Science and Engineering: to keep up to date with new resources, events and library news.
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