Subject librarian

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The study of geography is about more than just memorizing places on a map. It's about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it's about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.

Barack Obama

Subject-specific training courses

Bachelor
As part of the introduction to empirical social research, an introductory session (library catalogue, holdings and specialist information as well as electronic information and media available) takes place each spring semester.

Master, doctoral students, lecturers
Individual consultations are available for topic-related information searching in GeoRef, GeoBase (integrated into Scopus) and others databases relevant to the topic. These consultations are available by appointment. Please get in touch with the subject librarian (above).

All training courses

 

An overview of all training courses available at the University Library – introduction at the start of the semester, training sessions, guided tours, reference management, etc. – can be found here.

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University Library holdings

General

  • textbooks
  • basic and comprehensive works on the subjects as a whole and on the individual subdisciplines
  • reference works (encyclopaedias, lexicons, language dictionaries), where possible online
  • selected congress reports and specialist research literature
  • journals and series
  • licences for electronic media (e-books, e-journals, databases)
  • historical collections (monographs and maps)

Geography 

  • regional studies
  • no current maps with the exception of the official countra maps
  • no general travel guides

Geology, Palaeontology, Mineralogy, Petrography

  • Geology / Paläontology of individual countries and regions
  • literture on the history, philosophy and social relevance of geosciences
  • geolocial guides with a geographic focus on Europe
  • geological maps: Switzerland's geolocial atlas only

Other acquisition aspects

  • continuity: even if the focus of research at the university shifts, the basic supply of literature for the subject area as a whole as well as for subdisciplines will be maintained
  • regional principle: the more distant the reporting area, the more general and extensive the works
  • languages: focus on German and English, with a lesser proportion of Romanic languages
  • online access is preferred for journals

 

Libraries with additional holdings

  • Department of environmental sciences: libraries
  • Libarary MSD (MGU)
  • Library of the Naturhistorisches Museum
  • Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Basel: exchange journals (located in the University Library)
  • Pro Natura (searchable via swissbib Basel Bern)
  • Stadtbibliothek GGG (travel guides, illustrated books)