BIRTHSTONES PATHFINDER
BOOKS ― WEBSITES ― PERIODICALS ― FIELD GUIDES ― "A QUESTION" ― & MORE
BOOKS in the library
Call # Title & Author
552 Pel Rocks, minerals & fossils of the world by Chris Pellant
552 Pel Rocks and minerals by Chris Pellant.
552 Rus Encyclopedia of rocks, minerals and gemstones
553 Mac Gem hunter's guide by Russell P. MacFall
553.8 Hal Gemstones by Cally Hall
553.8 Old Gemstones by Cally Oldershaw
553.8 Pos The National Gem Collection by Jeffrey E. Post
552.8 Sch Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann
553.8 Sof Gems & crystals from the American Museum of Natural History by Anna S. Sofianides.
REF 549 Far Complete Guide to Rocks & Minerals, by John Farndon
GEOLOGY SITES on the internet
annotation: These websites contain descriptions and images of gemstones, with a focus primarily on scientific information. One special feature of the "USGS Natural Gemstones" site is a description of the formation of both organic gems (like pearls) and mineral gems (like amethysts). The "Overview of Production..." site describes the location of gemstone mines in the United States, and outlines the history and current status of gemstone markets. The "Smithsonian" site offers images of gemstones in their natural state and in famous pieces of jewelry ― the Star of Bombay and the Hope Diamond among others. Jim Riedesel's webpage is a basic introduction to minerals and was written when he was a university student studying earth science.
USGS
Natural Gemstones
Production
of U.S. Gemstones
Minerals Close-Up
Smithsonian
Gem & Mineral Collection
Jim Riedesel's Mineral Web Page
MINERAL SITES on the internet
annotation: This is a fun and informative commercial site with
information on minerals, jewelry, books and more.
GEMSTONE SITES on the internet
annotation: These are all commercial websites containing birthstone information organized by month. Each offers descriptions of the "mystical" properties of these gems from a variety of cultures and religions ― modern, traditional, mystical, astrological, Roman, Hebrew, Christian, Arabic, and Hindu.
University of Texas, Mineral Lore & Mythology http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/npl/mineralogy/lore_and_mythology/index.html
Gemological Institute of America, Images of gemstones http://www.gia.edu/library/34979/images_for_educational_use.cfm
Emporia State University, Gemstones & Gemology (go to the bottom of the page for more gems), http://www.emporia.edu/earthsci/amber/go340/beryl.htm
Burke Museum – Science and Legends Behind Birthstones, http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/geology/birthstones/
Bernardine Fine Art Jewelry, http://www.bernardine.com/gemstones/gemstones.htm
Minerals by Name, http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/by_name.htm
Birthstones from JewelryCentral, http://birthstones.jewelrycentral.com
FIELD GUIDES in the library
Call # Title & Author
549 Hoc Minerals by Rupert Hochleitner
549 Old Firefly Guide to Gems, by Cally Oldershaw
549 Pel Rocks and Minerals by Chris Pellant
549 Pou A field guide to rocks and minerals by Frederick H. Pough
549 Roc A field guide and
introduction to the geology and chemistry of rocks and minerals
by Charles
A. Sorell
549.97 National Audubon
Society field guide to North American rocks and minerals
by Charles W.
Chesterman
"A QUESTION"
Gemstones are beautiful, the gift of one often creates a lifetime memory and thoughts of love. How to they come to be a part of our lives? National Geographic Magazine published an article in 2002 entitled "Diamonds: The Real Story" by Andrew Cockburn with photographs by Cary Wolinsky. "Funneled through secretive networks, these precious gems carry a huge cost in human suffering." to read more click: http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/data/2002/03/01/html/ft_20020301.1.html
For more information on the lives of the people who mine diamonds from the earth see the following:
Common Dreams News Center, http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0401-12.htm
Corporate Watch, http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11389
Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, http://www.cceia.org/resources/publications/dialogue/2_09/articles/945.html
International Labour Organization, "Child Labour in the Diamond Industry"
http://www.ilo.org/public/spanish/dialogue/actrav/genact/child/proj/childiam.htm
print PERIODICALS in the library
Discover, National Geographic, Natural History, Popular Science, Science News, Scientific American and Smithsonian
Several of these magazines are also available on-line via ProQuest and eLibrary (see below).
on-line PERIODICAL databases
ProQuest eLibrary To access these databases from home you need a username and password. See the librarian.
Also, be sure to use the databases provided by the King County Library System. To access KCLS databases you need a KCLS library card. Get one at your nearest branch library. The Mount Si library also has application forms. Use your local library! Long live libraries! LIBRARIES are forever!
& MORE ― a great NOVEL of multifaceted intrigue
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, author of the first detective stories ever written in the English language, tells of the theft of a precious gemstone, the ill-fate of its thieves, and takes the reader from India to the streets of 19th century London on a quest of international intrigue. Collins (1824-1889) was a friend of Charles Dickens and wrote several novels that greatly influenced British society (much in the way that Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle influenced American society). Highly recommended to daring, adventuresome and curious readers.
CREDITS: the diagram of diamond formation and the moonstone photograph on this website were taken from the book The National Gem Collection by Jeffrey E. Post, with photographs by Chip Clark, published by the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers (New York) in 1997. The diagram appears on p. 42 and the carved moonstone from Sri Lanka appears on p. 100. The image of Wilkie Collins' monogram was downloaded from the internet on 10/14/04 from www.deadline.demon.co.uk/wilkie/monog.htm.
webpage created
10/15/04
most recent update 10/14/08