Botanical Information

Abstract

Botanical libraries that once specialized only in the subject of botany now take a more interdisciplinary approach in order to meet the needs of a wide variety of patrons. Information regarding the plant sciences is critical for economic botanists, plant taxonomists, historians, anthropologists, phytochemists, geneticists, biologists, Ph.D. students and graduate fellows. These specializations reflect the academic interests of the researchers who make up the broad user community of the Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden. While these scientists agree that powerful electronic search tools have revolutionized their research, hands-on use of the library, scouring the published literature for primary references, and the ability to view journals onsite remain high priorities in their information seeking.

Key Words:

• Botanists
• botanical information
• plant names
• plant science
• botanical literature