Encyclopedias and Other Special Databases - CE 301 - Civil Engineering Systems - LibGuides at University of Texas at Austin

Special Databases

Among the library databases are encyclopedias. (Think of Wikipedia.) They don't index articles but instead provide topic overviews, explanations of concepts, and definitions of terms. The encyclopedias have been a good option for getting focused information on some of the very popular topics such as the Eiffel Tower. Most likely to be of interest for this class are these titles:

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
This service provides the text of numerous special-topic encyclopedias. You can search them all together and then, if necessary, use facets to focus the results.
Updated regularly. A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources. Fully searchable across all files. A list of sources included in our subscription is available.
For more information on ebooks see the Ebook Guide
Great Buildings Online This link opens in a new window
The opportunity to explore great buildings from around the world, including with the aid of 3D models.
Updated regularly. Documents architecture from around the world and across history, including famous designers and structures of all kinds. Coverage of over one thousand buildings and hundreds of leading architects. Also has 3D models, photographic images and architectural drawings, commentaries, bibliographies, web links, and more.
Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey This link opens in a new window
Records from the Library of Congress projects that record treasures of built America.
Updated regularly. The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) collections are among the largest and most heavily used in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. Since 2000, documentation from the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) has been added to the holdings. The collections document achievements in architecture, engineering, and landscape design in the United States and its territories through a comprehensive range of building types, engineering technologies, and landscapes. This online presentation of the HABS/HAER/HALS collections includes digitized images of measured drawings, black-and-white photographs, color transparencies, photo captions, written history pages, and supplemental materials.
SAH Archipedia This link opens in a new window
Histories, photographs, and more about the "built world."
SAH Archipedia is an authoritative encyclopedia of the built world published by the Society of Architectural Historians and the University of Virginia Press, and contains histories, photographs, and maps for more than 8,500 structures and places. Currently, the content of SAH Archipedia is drawn from the award-winning book series, Buildings of the United States, and includes histories and thematic essays from twelve of the published BUS volumes: Massachusetts (Metropolitan Boston), Rhode Island, Pennsylvania (Eastern and Western), the District of Columbia, Virginia (Tidewater and Piedmont), West Virginia, Michigan, Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, and Alaska.
Other published BUS books will be added in the coming years (including Delaware; Louisiana; Hawai; Texas: Central, South, East, North, West and Gulf Coast; Vermont; Virginia: The Valley and Southwest; North Dakota; Wisconsin; Missouri; Mississippi; New Hampshire; and Arkansas among them).

Also, this is a good database to know about:

Statista This link opens in a new window
Statistical information from government agencies, foundations, and all sorts of organizations. Indexed by subject and with downloadable data.
Statista provides statistical data from thousands of institutions and sources. It provides access to data from market and opinion research institutions, as well as from business organizations and government agencies.
Statista includes data on more than 85,000 topics from 18,000 sources. About 20 percent of the total data in Statista comes from sources available free online, such as the World Bank and the U.S. Census, but the data also includes numerous exclusive sources which include industry, marketing, and trade groups. Much of the data is related to marketing, demographic, government and industry information, and is international in scope. Data can be downloaded in JPG, PowerPoint and Excel.
While historical and time series data are not a focus of Statista, the metadata about each table provides all the necessary information to go to the table’s source, where historical information may be available.