Guides and databases: Geography: Books and e-books

Books and e-books

The principal book collection for Geography is located on the first floor of the Science Library.

Explore is UCL's library catalogue. This is the principal tool to find books, journals and other materials (either in print or in electronic format) held in UCL libraries. On the catalogue, you will find details such as: library site, collection and shelfmark, when you are looking for print resources. In order to access e-books via Explore, you will always need your UCL user ID and password.

Print books are arranged on the shelves according to their shelfmark. For example:

GEOGRAPHY H 72 MOR for a book on the human impact on the environment

GEOGRAPHY E 45 CAM for a book on wetlands

Other collections useful for Geography related subjects

Economics.
History (including London history).
Political Science and Public Policy.
Human rights.

The Bartlett Library holds planning and architecture material.

General reference works and encyclopedias

Consult introductory material or general reference works for a broad overview of your issue or topic, and to identify key concepts, theories and researchers in the field. Introductory material may include:

subject or discipline specific dictionaries and encyclopaedias.
handbooks.
companions.
introductions.
guides.
biographies.
histories.

Find introductory material in Explore by combining a topic keyword with one of the material type descriptors above, e.g. Handbook AND Geography.

These are some examples of introductory material available electronically for Geography. The list is not extensive, and you should perform your own searches on Explore to see what else is available in print in UCL Libraries.

Dictionary of Geography
This work contains over 3,000 entries on all aspects of physical and human geography.
Dictionary of Human Geography
An essential A–Z work that provides an in-depth guide to all aspects of human geography, including cultural, social, developmental, economic, political, and health geography.

Elsevier Reference Collection in Earth Systems and Environmental Science
This reference collection contains trusted, peer-reviewed, comprehensive content from Elsevier's reference works. It contains "Featured Articles" for quick, clear overviews and subject hierarchies to put information in context. it contains titles such as 'Encylopedia of the Anthropocene', 'Comprehensive Remote Sensing', 'Encyclopedia of Sustainable Technologies' and more.

International Encyclopedia of Geography : People, the Earth, Environment, and Technology
A definitive reference work. It reviews and defines the concepts, research, and techniques in geography and interrelated fields.
Oxford Bibliographies - Geography
Combining the best features of an annotated bibliography and a high-level encyclopedia, this cutting-edge resource directs researchers to the best available scholarship across a wide variety of subjects.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Illustrated collection of more than 50,000 specially written biographies of the men and women who shaped all aspects of Britain's past, from the fourth century BC to the present. Original biographies as they appeared in the Victorian Dictionary of National Biography are accessible by clicking on DNB Archive at the bottom of the page if they have been superseded.
Oxford Reference Online
Full text of dictionaries, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press, including 130 English and bilingual dictionaries. Accessibility statement for Oxford Reference.

Wiley StatsRef
This is a comprehensive online reference resource which covers the fundamentals and applications of statistics. The resource has over 6,000 articles selected from eight Wiley reference works on statistics. The articles are fully searchable and updated with new and revised content.

Stores service

UCL Library Services off-site store is a closed access collection which houses important research material not currently in high demand. The material at this site will have 'Store' as its location on Explore. Users can request store material for delivery to the Science Library. Users should complete a Store Request Form in order to request material from this location.

Finding e-books in Explore

A brief guide to finding and accessing e-books via UCL Explore.

How can you tell if a book is available online?

On UCL Explore, you can look at the results of your search to quickly discover if a book is available in print or/and online: View Online means that the book is available electronically, while Available means that the book is available in print. In some cases a book is available both in print and online.

Search Explore

Check out our Explore guide to find out more about how to use Explore for your research.

Explore guide

Suggest a purchase

Suggest a purchase
Is there a book or resource you would like to see in our collection? Perhaps you've noticed something missing on your reading list? Please let us know by filling out our suggest a purchase form.

ReadingLists@UCL

ReadingLists @UCL is an online service that gives students easy access to materials on their reading lists wherever they are, and allows academic staff to create and update their own reading lists.

ReadingLists@UCL webpages