For Your Class

Campus Logistics

UW-Madison Campus Libraries

We have over 40 libraries (campus libraries map) on the UW-Madison campus. Campus libraries are open to the public, and with the exception of Memorial Library and late night hours at College Library, do not require an ID to enter. Library hours vary, so check library hours before coming to campus. Electronic library resources may be accessed in any campus library. You do not need to be in the Chemistry Library to access Beisltein or SciFinder Scholar, two of our most important chemistry databases.

The Chemistry Library is located in Room 2361 of the Daniels wing of the Chemistry Building, 1101 University Avenue (corner of University Avenue and Mills Street). map & hours

MadCat lists the collections of the UW-Madison Libraries—including print and electronic books and journals, some course reserves, videos, sound recordings and some full text of government information. Note that journal articles are not in MadCat. The MadCat record will give you holdings, library location, call number, and item status information. There are several search modes in MadCat:

  • Words Anywhere - search for all terms entered in the search box
  • Basic - when you know exactly what you are looking for
  • Guided - when you not sure of an exact title or subject searching
  • Course Reserves .- for non-electronic resources on reserve for UW-Madison courses

Borrowing Priviledges

To check out library materials, Edgewood College students may obtain a courtesy library card Card Application Window of Memorial Library. You must show your Edgewood College ID with a current student status sticker. The Card Application Window is open Monday - Friday (8:00 am - 6:00 pm) and Saturday - Sunday (10:00 am - 4:00 pm), and is located just inside the main entrance to Memorial Library. map & hours

Photocopy and Printing

You should obtain a debitcard to make photocopies and to print from Electronic Library workstations. Debitcard wall units are available in most libraries for the purchase of debitcards and for adding money to debitcards. $1.00 will purchase a card ($.75 is encoded on the card; the cost of the card is $.25). Wall units will accept currency in $1, $5, $10 or $20 bills. Coins are not accepted, and change is not given. The cost of photocopying is $.10/page; the cost of printing from a library workstation is $.07/page with a debitcard only.

Campus Parking

Parking on campus is limited. Check the Parking and Transportation web site for public parking and bus service.

Handbooks and Dictionaries

These resources provide physical constants for particular organic compounds and, in some cases, reference to the original literature. They included selected compounds by various criteria.

  • Dictionary of Organic Compounds. 5th edition, 5 volumes, supplements added yearly, 1982. (Ref QD 251 H45)
  • CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. CRC Press. new editions annually (Ref QD 65 H32, copies on shelves in reference area, latest edition on reserve)
  • CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, (most recent edition) Online. (Internet access licensed for UW-Madison students, faculty, staff)
  • Handbook of Data on Organic Compounds, CRC Press, 2nd edition, 1990 (Ref QD 257.7 H36)
  • Knovel Scientific and Engineering Online References (Internet access licensed for UW-Madison students, faculty, staff)
    The Knovel database contains of some of the leading chemistry and engineering reference handbooks, databases, and conference proceedings. Some of the standard reference texts included are Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook and Lange's Handbook of Chemistry. The content of more than 200 books is interactive and cross-searchable. Users can manipulate and extract information (for example, text, live tables, graphs, images, databases) to suit their needs. Data searching retrieves tables, graphs, and equations that can be further manipulated in spreadsheets and with java applets.
  • The Merck Index (Ref RS 356 M52, copies on shelves in reference area, latest edition on reserve)

Commercially Available Chemicals

Print resources

  • Aldrich handbook of fine chemicals and laboratory equipment (Chemistry Library Ref TP202 A55 Located on handbook shelf in Reference area).
  • Biochemicals and reagents for life science research. Sigma. (Chemistry Library Ref TP202 S5772 Located on handbook shelf in reference area)

Internet resources:

  • Sigma-Aldrich (https://www.sigma-aldrich.com/)
  • ChemCats. CAS .Included in SciFinder Scholar. Links to ChemCats records appear in CAS Registry Database. Available from campus library public workstation)

Finding Reaction Conditions

If the procedure was considered "common knowledge" by the original author, it may not appear inBeilstein or SciFinder Scholar. For this information the best sources are:

  • Organic Syntheses (Chem Lib Ref. QD 262 O721) - a collection of detailed preparations of widely used compounds. This content is searchable on the Internet at the Organic Syntheses Website (http://www.orgsyn.org/). This site requires a supported operating system, browser, and chemical drawing plugin, and is not searchable from library computers. Content is also included in MDL Reaction Browser (see below) which is searchable from library computers.
  • Organic Reactions (Chem Lib Ref QD 251 O7) - detailed review articles on major synthetic reactions with extensive tales of references.
  • Theilheimer's Synthetic Methods (Chem Lib Ref QD 262 T48) - abstracts arranged by reaction type and indexed by compound type of both starting material and product.
  • Feiser and Feiser's Reagents for Organic Synthesis (Chem Lib Ref QD 262 F5)
  • Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis (Chem Lib Ref QD 77 E53 1995)
    Online. (Internet access licensed for UW-Madison students, faculty, staff)

Chemical Abstracts Registry Numbers

The Registry number is a unique, three-part identifier assigned to each compound indexed in Chemical Abstracts (CA). The RN for acetic acid, for example is 64-19-7. An excellent way to find chemical names and registry numbers is to search either the Beilstein CrossFire or SciFinder Scholar (Chemical Abstracts) databases by inputting a molecular structure. (Note: Beilstein does not have CA Registry Numbers for newer compounds - post 1994).

Article Databases

Analytical Abstracts (Internet access licensed for UW-Madison students, faculty, staff)
Analytical Abstracts indexes 1,100 international journals each year, in addition to books, conference proceedings, standards, and technical reports in more than 20 languages. The subject matter includes analysis, biochemistry, chemicals, energy, industry, pharmaceuticals, science and technology. All citations include abstracts. It offers comprehensive indexing for:

  • Analyte (the compound’s presence or activity assessed)
  • Matrix (the substance tested)
  • Concept (the method used)

Applied Science and Technology (Internet access licensed for UW-Madison students, faculty, staff)
Applied Science and Technology Abstracts covers more than 400 English language scholarly and trade journals in the general fields of engineering, computers, chemistry, applied mathematics, energy, and a wide variety of applied sciences. There are abstracts beginning with 1993. Most journals are available on campus.

Beilstein CrossFire (Available from campu library public workstations)
Beilstein CrossFire covers organic compounds and is based upon the venerable German work, Beilstein's Handbuch der Organischen Chemie which has been an indispensable reference in chemistry libraries since the mid 19th century. The CrossFire database replaced the handbook in 1994. The database contains all information in the handbook plus continued coverage of about 150 journals. CrossFire is the only index that covers the very old literature (earliest record is 1771). CrossFire may be searched in a number of ways: molecular formula, chemical name, chemical structure/substructure, reaction, etc. For search help, see Beilstein and Gmelin CrossFire

CCINFOweb Databases (Internet access licensed for UW-Madison students, faculty, staff)
CCINFO contains property and standards information. It is a good source for chemical name synonyms. This suite of multiple databases includes:

  • CHEMINDEX - searches all databases at once
  • MSDS - Manufacturers Safety Datasheets
  • RTECS - Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances

SciFinder Scholar (Availabel from campus library public workstations)
SciFinder Scholar was created about five years ago to provide user-friendly, computer access to selected CAS databases such as Chemical Abstracts, plus Medline. It may be searched by molecular structure (exact or partial), reaction, chemical name, formula, and research topic using natural language.

Chemical Abstracts (CA) was first published in 1907. It attempts to index every publication type (articles, books, patents, proceedings, etc.) in all languages from all areas of the chemical sciences. It is an enormous undertaking that is supported by other national chemical societies around the world (Japan, Europe, Russia). In this class you will be using CAS's SciFinder Scholar interface to access CA.

Caution: SciFinder's Chemical Abstracts coverage extends back to 1907, but the early decades (1907 - 1956) can only be searched by author names or words (in title or abstract). Substance searches (Registry File) - formula, name, and structure - will only retrieve references from 1957 to date. Reaction searches (CAS Reacts) identify journal literature (1985 - present) and patents (1991 - present). You should use Beilstein CrossFire to retrieve older compound references or search SciFinder Scholar by text terms for the pre-1957 literature. For search help, see SciFinder Scholar Help

Web of Knowledge (WOK) and Science Citation Index (SCI) (Internet access licensed for UW-Madison students, faculty, staff)
The print version of SCI is available in Chemistry Library (1968-1979). Coverage of the online version, Web of Knowledge, begins with 1970. Two years, (1980 - 1981) may be searched via an older search interface available on library computers. Cited referencing is often most active and relevant in the years immediately following the original publication.

SCI's most powerful search feature is the cited reference search. This feature permits you to find new information on a topic by using citation connections between articles, rather than the subject terms of a traditional index. Organic chemists use cited reference searching because it is frequently a very effective way to find information about specific reactions. For example, if you need to find current uses of the Wittig reaction, begin with the paper in which the reaction was first described. A citation search of that paper in WOK leads you to newer uses of the reaction.

Primary Research Journals

The indexes described above will not necessarily give you all the information you will need to complete the library exercise. In some cases you will have to look up the journal articles referenced in the indexes. Journals are shelved alphabetically (with some exceptions) in the Chemistry Library. Use MadCat to locate print and electronic journals.

The abbreviations used for journals in chemical publications vary and are sometimes cryptic. Increasingly, CA abbreviations are becoming standard and you are asked to use them in completing the mini-library assignment. Look up CA abbreviations in CASSI (Chemical Abstracts Source Index) located near the Circulation Desk.

Many journals are now available online for varying years of coverage. UW-Madison Libraries provides licensed access to electronic journals, magazines, newsletters and newspapers. These journals are accessible through MadCat, FindIt and the Electronic Journal List . The publication web site usually provides a search feature for its online journals, but a journal database like Beilstein or SciFinder Scholar will provide a broader search. For collections of electronic journals specific to chemistry, use SUBJECT BROWSE within the ELECTRONIC JOURNAL TITLE LIST.