History of Science and Technology

"The history of science...has been developing rapidly during the during the past ten years. New priorities have meant that it has been changing perhaps faster than many sciences. There has been a considerable increase in publications, particularly monographs and periodicals, and a need has arisen to present a balanced survey of the literature and underlying changes in interpretation."
Information Sources in the History of Science and Medicine (Corsi), preface, p. xi.

The history of sciences and technology, a relatively young and broad interdisciplinary field, involves the social sciences; the sciences, including technology; and the humanities. This guide is designed to serve as a brief introduction to the wide range of publications on the subject, which can be found in the Perkins Library system. Emphasis is on publications that treat general aspects of the history of science - including technology - in the Western world of primarily and mainly works in the English language.

Since the Medical Center Library has an excellent collection of material on the history of medicine, this field, as well as the history of other specific fields, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, etc., are not emphasized here. References to publications on the individual fields can, however, be found in the published guides listed in the second section of this guide and in many of the bibliographies listed in the "Bibliographies" section. Furthermore, books on the history of separate fields of science can be found by use of the online catalog (use the headings "Biology --History", "Botany--History", "Physics--History", etc.). Some journals that cover the history of these fields are listed in the Selected Periodicals section of this guide. For further help in locating and using the sources for these specific fields, the researcher is urged to consult the staff in appropriate branch science libraries or in the Perkins Library Reference Department.