Welcome! Click on a tab below to find books, articles, and websites for use in this course.
You'll need a College of DuPage Library card in order to use most of the resources below from off campus. If your card is not working, contact us.
Questions? Feel free to contact me, stop by the Reference Desk, or contact us by email or chat.
Want to know more about the COD library? Check out our orientation video.
Books
Books can provide good research about a variety of prairie topics, including history, ecology, and related subjects.
General Prairie Books
Working on a prairie-related topic? If so, try looking through the books on the following topics. I have not listed every book we own that focuses on the prairie, but these will get you started.
Tallgrass Prairie by John Madson and Frank Oberle QH104.5.M47 M34 1993
Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie by Alan K. Knapp. QH105.K3 G73 1998
The Ecology and Management of Prairies in The Central United States by Chris Helzer QH104.5.M47 H45 2010
Illinois Wilds by Michael R. Jeffords, Susan L. Post, Kenneth Ray Robertson. QH105.I3 J4 1995
Prairie: A Natural History by Candace Sherk Savage, David Suzuki Foundation. QH102 .S38 2011
Last Stand of the Tallgrass Prairie by Aimée Larrabee and John Altman QH104 .L33 2001
Plants of the Prairies
Prairie Plants Of The Midwest: Identification And Ecology by Russell Kirt. QK938.P7 K5 1995 (in Reference and On Reserve)
Prairie Plants Of Northern Illinois: Identification And Ecology by Russell Kirt. QK157 .K5 1989x
Prairie Establishment And Landscaping by William E. McClain, Illinois. Division of Natural Heritage., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. QK938.P7 M24 2003
Best Groundcovers And Vines For The Prairies by Hugh Skinner, Sara Williams, Lesley Reynolds. SB432 .S552 2007
Edible Wild Plants Of The Prairie : An Ethnobotanical Guide by Kelly Kindscher. QK 98.5 .U6 K56 1987
Medicinal Wild Plants Of The Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide by Kelly Kindscher. E78.G73 K56 1992
Animals of the Prairies
The Prairie Gardener's Book of Bugs: A Guide to Living With Common Garden Insects by Nora Bryan, Grace Buzik, Ruth Staal. SB931 .B79 2003
Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie by Alan K. Knapp. QH105.K3 G73 1998 *See description
The Ecology and Management of Prairies in The Central United States by Chris Helzer QH104.5.M47 H45 2010 *Includes animal info
The Russell R. Kirt Prairie
First, start by checking out the books we have that were authored by Kirt:
Plant Species And Management Plan For College Of Dupage's Marshes And Woodlands by Russell R. Kirt, College of DuPage. QK157 .K49 2000
Prairie Plants Of The Midwest: Identification And Ecology by Russell Kirt. QK938.P7 K5 1995 (in Reference and On Reserve)
Prairie Plants Of Northern Illinois: Identification And Ecology by Russell Kirt. QK157 .K5 1989x
You can also check out the Archives tab above to see what unique items appear in our collection.
You can also use I-Share to request books owned by other libraries in Illinois.
Finding Articles and Websites about the Prairie
Need scholarly articles about prairie topics? Try the following databases:
Science Direct is a scholarly article database. Try searching by at least two keywords. Need help? Check out this tutorial. You'll need an active library card to access it.
Academic Search Complete has a mixture of popular and scholarly articles, and has a variety of prairie-focused research.
Google Scholar indexes a variety of scholarly research about the prairie. Want to use Google Scholar to help identify what you have access to in our library? Watch this short tutorial on how to do that!
Websites
The Prairie Research Institute has good information about current prairie research.
Prairie Biotic Research, Inc. is an all-volunteer non-profit created to fund prairie research projects. You can search research projects by state, date, and topic.
The Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (run by USGS) has reports on topics like honeybees and native polinators, wolves, and oil and natural gas development, among others.
Archives
Want to know more about the Russell Kirt Prairie on the COD campus?
More info can be found in the College Archives, including photos, documents and articles. Contact Jenny Dunbar using the Archives page to arrange a time to do research in the archives.