Climatology
| Collection Area | Purpose | Program | Subjects | Languages | Geographic Areas | Material Type |
| Material Format | Special Collections | Other Resources | Related CDPs | Revisions | LC Class | Bibliographers |
Collection Area
Climatology: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Climate Data, Climate Dynamics, Meteorology, Weather
General Purpose
The goal of the climatology collection development program is to provide materials to support research and instruction in climatology and meteorology. All areas of these fields are represented. The core of the collection are the climate data sets, which can be used in a variety of research projects. Materials on atmospheric physics and chemistry, including air pollution, computer modeling of the atmosphere, and books on climate change and the greenhouse effect are included. Popular guides to the weather in different regions, and works on weather phenomenon and hazards are collected.
Dartmouth College Program
Although there is no department devoted to the study of meteorology and climatology at Dartmouth, there are climate-related research and instructional programs in Geography, Earth Sciences, and Environmental Studies, and research programs in Engineering and Biology. The Geography Department emphasizes the impact of climate on human populations, especially food supply, and offers a course on global climate change. It incorporates climatology into a number of courses offered. The Earth Science Department offers courses in meteorology, hydrology, natural disasters and environmental geology. Environmental Studies courses include sections on acid rain, desertification and ozone depletion. Research in Engineering deals with modeling climate dynamics. Both Environmental Studies and Engineering offer courses on global warming.
General Subject Boundaries
The climatology collection classes in QC851-QC999.
There is a continuing emphasis on collecting materials relating to climate change and climate dynamics. Paleoclimatology, which classes in the QE's as well as in the QC's, is a growing area of interest.
Bioclimatology, the influence of climate on plants and animals, are primarily collected in Dana. The influence of climate on humans in terms of agriculture is in Baker and Dana. Medical climatology is in Dana.
Materials on weather modification, weather forecasting, and weather of specific geographic areas are housed in Baker-Berry.
The impacts of cold climate on materials and engineering projects is in Feldberg.
Languages
English is the primary language of the collection. Since climate data for many parts of the world is difficult to get, relevant materials will be collected in any language.
Geographic Areas
No geographical area is excluded, but the collection program emphasizes data from North America. Climate data from many parts of the world is not readily available. Materials on planetary atmospheres are included.
Types Of Material Collected
All types of materials are considered for the collection. Serials, monographs, conference proceedings, and technical reports are included. Data sets, often made available through U.S. Depository programs are also included. Dissertations are rarely purchased in this subject area.
Format Of Materials Collected
An important part of the collection is climate data on microfiche. As the availability of this format declines, it will be necessary to collect in other formats. CD-ROM data sets are currently being purchased and many materials available through government documents depository programs are only available in this format. Climate data lends itself exceptionally well to being stored in electronic format due to the need for researchers to be able to manipulate the data. Analytic or instructional computer programs without a significant amount of accompanying data are not currently purchased.
Special Collections and Manuscripts
Climate data reports for Hanover, NH which are compiled by the Physics Department are kept in the College Archives. Material relating to climatology of polar regions is in the Stefansson Collection.
Other Resources Available
The Library at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratories in Hanover has a collection of materials on the effects of cold climates on materials. In addition, there are a number of Federally funded programs which utilize the Internet to disseminate information, usually in form of datasets or graphics, which can be downloaded to local computers. An active effort is made to maintain access lists to these files. Support for researchers in the area of Arctic topics is provided through the Dickey Center Institute of Arctic Studies.
Related Collection Development Policies
Other collection development policies which might be consulted are: Earth Science, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Geography, Physics, and Polar and Cold Regions.
Revision History
1990 (DeFelice)
January 1997 (Clement)
LC Class
QC851-QC999