* Chemistry: Home

Once you have a good understanding of your topic and have selected a few keywords, LibrarySearch is a great place to start your research! LibrarySearch is a convenient way to search almost all of the library’s resources using a single search box. 

Below are just a few of our databases useful for chemistry research. For more databases with chemical sciences content, check out our Databases A-Z page and select "Chemistry" from the drop-down.

You can search for books in our library and other libraries using the links below. If you're not sure how to find what you're looking for, ask us!

In-text citations:

References in the text should be cited in one of three ways:

• by an italic number - e.g. "Chemistry is great! (2)"
• or by superscript number - e.g. "Chemistry is great! ²"
• or by author name and date - e.g. "Chemistry is great! (Curie, 2017)"

If using numbers, references should be numbered sequentially.  If a reference is used more than once in your text, it does not need a new number each time; use the original number assigned to it.  If citing more than one reference at a time, include reference numbers in increasing order separated by commas.

Bibliography:

If you used numbers for your in-text citations, arrange your bibliography in numerical order (so that in-text citation 1 is listed first, in-text citation 2 is listed second, etc). If you used author name and date for your in-text citations, arrange your bibliography in alphabetical order by author's last name. The ACS website has excellent examples of citation formats for every source type (books, journal articles, websites, etc).

LibrarySearch is also the combined library catalog for the entire University of Maine system. You can search the entire system, or select University of Southern Maine Libraries in the drop-down.

Other helpful tips:

• If you find a book that is relevant to your needs, look at the "Subject" area of the book's record. Click on a few of the subjects to find other similar books.
• In many of the book records, you can look at the table of contents. This can help you determine if a book is right for your research.
• If USM doesn't have a book you want, click the "Request" button and we can get it for you.

Most databases, as well as LibrarySearch and MaineCat, assign subjects to books and articles. A subject is a designated word or phrase that describes an idea or concept and groups all articles or books about that concept together.

• Subjects are also variously called descriptors, controlled vocabulary, headings, or index terms.
• To search by subject you have to know the exact subject term. Most databases that use subjects have a Thesaurus that you can use to look up subject terms. You can also do a keyword search, find a book or article that is relevant to your research, and look at the subject terms assigned to it.
• LibrarySearch and MaineCat use Library of Congress Subject Headings and each database has their own list of subject headings, so you have to look up subjects in each database independently.

There are many ways you can get research materials from other libraries. In the vast majority of cases, there is no charge to you for this service!

• From LibrarySearch use the GET IT and then REQUEST links. button on the left side of the screen..
• MaineCat, use the  button in the middle of an item's page.
• From a database:
  • Select the item you want and find and click the  or "Find It" button (the placement on the page will vary by database).
  • If the library does not have access to the item, find and click the "Submit an Interlibrary Loan Request"