Penn State University Libraries - Mycology and Mushroom Production

• Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria provides integrated information to allow identification / confirmation of identity of significant species, along with related information on pathology or other economic significance. (online source)
• Mycology reference cards (QK603.N69 2000). This is a set of 8 cards that can be used as study guides. Fungal Phylogeny, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Deuteromycota, Zygomycota, Chytriomycota, Oomycota, Slime molds.
• Kneebone Mushroom Reference Library - The Collection is comprised of books, journals, several Penn State mycology dissertations, and article reprints. There is a regional emphasis on materials from Pennsylvania.

• Gale Virtual Library is a collection of over 400 reference resources in topics including Environment, Science, and Technology.
• Access Science is the online equivalent of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology.

• Dictionary of the Fungi. 10th edition (QK600.35.A35 2008)
• Illustrated Dictionary of Mycology. (QK600.35.U4513 2000)

Some basic statistical sources are listed here.  Contact a librarian for more detailed assistance if these sources are insufficient. 

• Agriculture Fact Book (USDA) general facts on agriculture.
• Agricultural Statistics (USDA) contains statistics on agricultural production, supplies, consumption, facilities, costs, and returns.
• The CRB commodity yearbook This book includes production, supply, exports, imports, price and futures information for agricultural and other commodities.
• Census of Agriculture is now taken every five years, and provides statistics by state, county and zip code.  Optional access for Older years (courtesy of Cornell University).
• National Agricultural Statistics Service provides access to some basic statistics and also links to their full text publications (mounted at Cornell University).
• Pennsylvania Agricultural Statistics Service also provides full text versions of their publications, including the annual statistical summary.
• The Economic Research Service of the USDA conducts research on trends in the agriculture and food sector. Many of their publications are now available online.
• FAOSTAT provides access to international data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
• Lexis-Nexis Statistical Universe is a powerful index to statistics and data contained in federal agency government publications. The University Library owns most of these collections in paper or microfiche format that do not contain full-text links. ASK for assistance locating information at any University Library Service Desk.
• ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research) archive of computerized social science data.

You can look for mycology information on the Internet by using one of the 'guides' listed below, or by using an Internet Search Engine like Google Scholar. Usually the search engines are most appropriate when you have a narrow, specific information need. For example if you were looking for information on cultivation of shiitake mushrooms or spawn production. If you are just looking for information on a general topic such as, edible mushrooms or diseases of mushrooms a subject guide is most appropriate.

USDA Agricultural Research Service Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory. Research emphasis is on plants of economic importance and fungi, as biological control agents to reduce the need for chemical inputs in sustainable agriculture and as pathogens that threaten the production of a safe and abundant food supply.

Penn State Mushroom Spawn Laboratory. Here you can find Mushroom Fact Sheets, links to other mycology sites, culture collections, and information on spawn, spawning, and spawn growth.

WWW Virtual Library: Mycology. This site is maintained by an assistant professor of plant pathology at Cornell University. There is information about taxonomy, identification, cultivation, directories of mycologists and mycology labs, guides and suppliers.