ThermoDex contains ~300 annotated bibliographic records that describe printed (hardcopy) compilations of thermodynamic and physical property data for chemical compounds and other substances. ThermoDex is a "finding aid" designed to save you time in searching through numerous handbooks you might have in your library. It enables you to enter both a type of compound and a property, and it returns a list of handbooks that might contain these data. Most of the books indexed are in the Chemistry reference collection at the University of Texas. Both well-known and obscure sources of all ages are included, and they represent a wide selection of property and compound-type information.
ThermoDex should not be your last resort in your quest for hard-to-find data. Well-known standard handbooks such as the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics are not covered because they are widely available in libraries, often electronically, and easy to check separately. They should be your first stop.
The search page has two sections for your query. The first offers choices of Properties, and the second contains names and classes of Compounds. The check-boxes represent the most commonly sought data points, and you can check one or more of these. In addition, you can select one or multiple entries from the scroll-box. To select more than one item from the list, hold down the the Ctrl key (or the Apple key on a Macintosh) when clicking the mouse button. All terms you select within each section will be searched with a Boolean OR. You do not have to select terms from both sections if one is all you need.
Indexing terms selected in ThermoDex records are based on terms used in the individual resources. This terminology is not always consistent across resources and over time. In some cases ThermoDex imposes consistency. For example, the commonly used term "enthalpy of xxx" has always been translated to "heat of xxx". Sometimes synonyms are used concurrently, such as pK for Dissociation Constant.
When selecting terms, particularly in the Compounds section, it's a good idea not to be too narrow. For instance, if you're looking for data on alcohols or common hydrocarbons, you should select those terms, and you might also select the more general term "Organic" from the list. Some sources indexed as containing data on a variety of organics will by definition also contain data for alcohols and hydrocarbons. Only those sources that focus primarily on alcohols or hydrocarbons, or have specific sections dedicated to such compounds, receive the narrower terms. Another example: if you're looking for data on argon, select both "argon" and the broader term "noble gases".
To see an alphabetical list of all handbooks included in ThermoDex, there is a link on the main search page.
| Title | Sometimes the name of the compiler or author is appended to the title, if the book is commonly known by that person's name. |
| Publisher | The publisher or origin of the work. |
| Abstract | A brief summary of the source's content, arrangement and indexing, with an occasional comment about the quality, authority, or usefulness of the item. Series designations are also found here. |
| Properties | List of the property terms assigned to this resource. |
| Compounds | List of the compounds/compound types covered in this resource. |
| Call Number | The library call number used at the University of Texas. Libraries employing the Library of Congress classification system will often use the same or similar call number. In the case of Web-based resources, the URL is given in this field. |
| Location | Specific library location within the University of Texas at Austin Libraries. Most often this is "CHEM REF", meaning the book is located in the Chemistry Reference Collection. Other UT libraries (ENGIN, PMA, GEOL, etc.) are also represented. For the most current location information, search the title in UT's library catalog. |
| Year(s) of publication | |
| ISBN | ISBNs are included for most books published since 1971. |
| OCLC Number | Accession number in the OCLC (WorldCat) online union catalog system, used by libraries around the world to catalog books and journals and share resources via Interlibrary Loan. Ask your librarian for further details on using OCLC numbers. |
| Find in a Library | This link executes a search in WorldCat, a public version of the OCLC database of international library holdings. This service shows you a list of libraries holding the book in question, and you can focus the results by locality and region by entering your zip code. |
ThermoDex is an ongoing project of the University of Texas Libraries. It began life as a paper card file in the Mallet Chemistry Library, evolved into a FileMaker database, and first migrated to the web in 1995. It has expanded through many versions and platforms since then. The content is maintained by David Flaxbart, Chemistry Librarian. Web design and development are done by Library Information Technology (UT LIT). While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of this information, we welcome comments, suggestions, and error reports from users.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Generic License.
