AtoZ Maps Online Now Available at UCB

AtoZ Maps Logo

The UCB Library has subscribed to a new map and GIS data database, AtoZMapsOnline. This resource provides more than 145,000 maps and also includes links to GIS data and commercial and free GIS software.

AtoZMapsOnline’s diverse holdings make it a valuable resource for students of all disciplines. The database includes outline maps, political maps, physical maps, thematic maps, climate change maps, environment maps, historic maps, hurricane maps, earthquake maps, volcano maps, fire maps, animal and plant species distribution maps, current event maps, geology maps, topographic maps, and weather maps. These maps are presented in pdf files which are easily incorporated into presentations, papers, or easily translated into vector lines using graphics software.

Download and use the maps in any way you wish! This includes use for print and electronic reports, so long as the maps are not resold. AtoZMapsOnline can be found on the Public Health Library’s Public Health GIS Resources web page.

Originally posted on the Earth Sciences and Maps news blog.


SpringerMaterials: The Landolt-Bornstein Database

Landolt-Bornstein, the indispensable reference source for physical and chemical data, is now accessible online through SpringerMaterials.

Updated on a quarterly basis, SpringerMaterials includes:

  • 400 Landolt-Börnstein volumes, 250,000 substances and 1,200,000 citations
  • 44,000 Chemical Safety Documents
  • The world’s largest and most renowned Database on Thermophysical Properties, the subset of the DDBST (Dortmund Data Bank Software & Separation Technology)
  • Linus Pauling Files, the most comprehensive database on inorganic solid phases

Access is restricted to UCB faculty, staff, and students.


No Health Without Research: World Health Report for 2012

"In times of financial crisis and competing priorities, it is even more important that evidence and science informs health policy and decision making." Thus states Tikki Pang, Director, Research Policy & Cooperation, World Health Organization. WHO’s forthcoming 2012 World Health Report will be the first to discuss the impact of health research. The hope is to provide a practical "A to Z Guide for Investing in Health Research."

WHO and the Public Library of Science (PLoS) have launched an initiative to encourage researchers to complement and substantiate the key messages in World Health Report 2012 by creating a special WHO/PLoS Collection. Researchers are invited to submit papers for the collection; see details at the PLoS Collections site.

Background information is on Tikki Pang’s blog post on PLoS’ Speaking of Medicine blog and WHO’s World Health report site.