Friday, December 12, 2014

Library Research Guides

Over the upcoming winter break, the UW-Madison Libraries will migrate and update all research guides to a newer, more responsive version of the present software. Research guides are curated collections of links and resources on a particular subject developed by librarians for students and researchers. There are hundreds of research guides available through the libraries on a variety of topics, ranging from the American Cranberry to atmospheric science resources.

With the new version, the look and feel of the research guides will change to integrate smoothly into the updated user interface for the Library website. The guides will also be more responsive and mobile device friendly. For example, instead of a tabbed top menu, users can click on the menu icon to display a list. Improved search capabilities, including the ability to search by guide or content type will also be rolled out with this update. The overall look and usability has been streamlined, and should improve viewer experience, especially on the run.

The Schwerdtfeger Library has developed two Research Guides: Atmospheric/Oceanic/Climate Research Guide and Climate Data Sources. The Atmospheric/Oceanic/Climate Research Guide is tailored toward students and researchers looking for information in scholarly articles, monographs, dissertations, and government resources. A list of citation guides and reference resources are also available in this guide.

In the Climate Data Sources Research Guide, viewers will find a list of local, regional, and U.S. climate information resources from UW-Madison, the National Climatic Data Center, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A list of climate offices and centers is also provided, as well as a section covering global and other climate information and sources.


The librarians at the Schwerdtfeger Library regularly update these guides and are currently developing a new research guide to facilitate the use of print satellite images from the library’s collection. If you have any questions about the content or resources found in the guides, feel free to contact the library.