phone: 814-865-3705
Life Sciences Library
408 Paterno Library
Janet Hughes
Title: Biological Sciences Librarian
phone: 814-865-3705
Life Sciences Library
408 Paterno Library
Core Resources
Also of interest
Don't forget: Try These First if you want general popular interest magazines and newspapers or pro and con debate information.
Already have a citation? Use Citation Linker to see if Penn State has it online or in print!
Article Search Tips
Finding the best articles on your topic requires a number of steps.
Get the full text
Once you find the citation, try the 
button to see if Penn State has the electronic or print version of the article you need. If the electronic version is available, it will appear as the first link on the Get it! menu. If the article is not available electronically, click on The CAT link to automatically search our catalog and see if Penn State has a print copy. If no other copy is available, you use the InterLibrary Loan link to request it from another library.
Use The CAT for finding books owned by Penn State.
CAT Search Tips: The CAT is the list of what is owned by Penn State Libraries.
Go to the Browse function if you are looking for a specific title or author (type last name first).
Go to the Keyword function and combine terms to search on a topic then use the subject headings from relevant books for additional search terms.
Write down the call number and location for any book you want.
For electronic books, click the words "online content" to access the full text.
Quick Guide to Searching the CAT (HTML version) or Quick Guide to Searching in the CAT(easy-print PDF version).
Learn how to refine your search with Savvy Searching in the CAT (html) or easy-print PDF version: Savvy Searching in the CAT.
Suggested CAT Search Terms: Search for general terms like biology, ecology, natural history, or more specific terms like biological diversity, microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, zoology
Call Numbers: At University Park, most materials in the life sciences are located on the 4th floor of Paterno Library. Some biotechnology material is located on the 3rd floor of Paterno. General call numbers and subject areas are:
Books Elsewhere: WorldCat
Libraries Borrowing Policies
Once you have the books, check them out at the nearest lending desk or self check-out station. Loan periods are usually four weeks but books can be recalled for another user, so respond promptly to library notices. For more information see the University Libraries Lending Code.
General Resources
Biology Reference Materials
Certain articles databases, such as Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management, include pre-vetted web sites, usually from government sources or reputable organizations.
You can also look for biology information on the Internet by using a specialized Search Engine such as:
Other Resources
Evaluating Resources for Content
To evaluate print sources and web sites, you should ask a series of questions concerning the source’s currency, authority, validity, intended audience and bias. See this How to Evaluate Information site for details.
Citing Your Sources
Plagiarism, whether you copy a paragraph from a book or cut and paste someone else's words from an e-mail, is a violation of Penn State's academic integrity policy. See this Definition of Plagiarism and Academic Integrity in Penn State's Plagiarism Tutorials.
When using information from another source you must give credit to the original author or you are plagiarizing. You give credit by citing the source. Make sure your citation contains everything you would need to backtrack and find the information again. It is best to pick one citation style and be consistent. Check our Citation and Writing Guides page for more details.
