Chemistry: Chemical Compounds

Use these databases to find information about your compound. If you are not finding anything in any of the databases listed, go to the Help page on this guide to get in contact with a librarian. Searching for the history, production, impact, etc. of some of the compounds might be trickier than others. 

How to Search:

1. Type the name of the compound in the search box.
2. Example: acetone
3. Click the search button.
4. Scan the book titles in the results list for those that seem like they would be most appropriate. This can be tricky, so ask for help if you need it!
5. Click the title of a book. In this case I chose: Petrochemicals in Nontechnical Language
6. If the Table of Contents is listed, look through the chapter titles and go from there.
7. Click the Read Online button to search within a book. Sometimes you will need to "Search within Book" to find all the pages that mention a particular word - like acetone.
8. Read the next section with more detailed information about how to search within a particular book.

Examples from Ebook Central:

Here are just three examples of the types of books you can find in Ebook Central. 

Step-By-Step Instructions

From the Ebook Central search results list, click the title of the book you want to view.

Click the Read Online button, to open the book so that you can view the contents.

In the textbox labeled "Search within book," type a word or phrase. In this case, the word marriage was the search term.

Click the Search button.

Sections of the book that mention that word or phrase will be indicated by a blue bar. Click the down arrow next to the section title to view and/or navigate to the pages that list the search word(s).