AND OUT OF THIS WORLD

When you think of getting off Planet Earth, what first comes to mind? It’s probably NASA. Its Image and Video Library (images.nasa.gov) is literally out of this world. Think Saturn’s rings, Neptune’s blue glow. This striking collection of images, videos, and audio files gives researchers a wonderful multimedia tool. A simple search for Saturn yields almost 4,000 results, including incredible images from the Cassini-Huygens mission. Images can be downloaded, and videos are played in the browser. Files are easily narrowed by media type and year. Search results include mini-documentaries on NASA missions, computer animations of celestial bodies, and photographs of rocket systems. Each image is cataloged, providing creation dates, credits, and keyword links. This NASA collection is a great place to quickly find images, audio, and video relating to astronomy.

CODING AND MAPPING

The 21st century is powered by websites—and websites can only exist if people code them. W3Schools (w3schools.com) is a great reference tool for computer coders and programmers of all skill levels, providing outstanding tutorials and examples for those in web-based development. HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, SQL, and other scripts and languages are outlined in detail. It gives clear examples of how to add color to a website with CSS, empower a button with Java-Script, create an HTML table, and much more. Coders (or aspiring coders) at any level should have this resource bookmarked on their browsers.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) provides detailed geographic mapping data for the public. The USGS National Map (TNM; viewer.nationalmap.gov/basic) visualizes spatial data, giving users access to detailed map files. The National Map displays an interactive base map on the right-hand side of the screen, with a data selection menu to the left. Researchers can choose between different base maps, including USGS Topo, USGS Shaded Relief, and USGS Hydro maps. In addition, researchers can use a rectangle draw tool to select a specific region on the base map or drop a point on the map to find specific files associated with that region. For instance, you can drop a point in central Michigan, click on the hydrology dataset, and then find mapping products associated with that area. The National Map is a great resource for finding mapped data and images.

Dive In!

These 12 resources give librarians fast and authoritative tools for a wide range of science topics. Some of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals and specimen collections are available for free online. Massive data mines, created by nonprofit organizations, governments, museums, and universities, are ready for excavation. Discovery waits those with targeted research questions, as well as those allowing serendipity to lead the way. Try a path from this map and see where it runs.