David Barthelmy, a petroleum geology consultant, started this mineral database in 1996 as a hobby. As of February 2004, there were 4,339 individual mineral species descriptions with links. Unlike most database creators, Barthelmy freely provides details, via a Weblog, about the creation of the Mineralogy Database. As an added bonus, especially for international users, Barthelmy has added InterTran to the site so that the database can easily be translated into over 20 languages by clicking on the country's flag at the bottom of the page. The information within the database is presented via eight main categories: Crystallography, Chemistry, X‐ray spacing, New Dana classification, Strunz classification, Mineral properties, Alphabetical listing, and Mineral images.
Within the “Crystallography” section, the minerals are arranged by crystal form, and within this, users can view the 32 classes of symmetry derivations. In the next section, minerals are listed by chemical composition. For example, clicking on Zn on the periodical table will take users to a page listing naturally‐occurring isotopes and mineral species sorted by the element Zinc. Minerals are arranged by X‐ray powder diffraction in the third category. The fourth category lists the new Dana classification alongside the old. Next, the minerals are divided among nine categories using the Strunz classification. Under “Mineral properties”, the physical and optical properties of each mineral are available, and several include colourful three‐dimensional images that visually bring the mineral to life. Additionally, printable specimen labels are provided for each mineral. The alphabetical listing includes “synonyms of accepted mineral names, pronunciation of that name, name origins, and locality information”. Not sure how to pronounce a mineral? A pronunciation guide using Winamp is available. I found that it is best used with Netscape.
As does the comparable Roberts et al. (1990), references (and links) to further information are provided near the bottom of the page for each mineral. The origin of mineral names is explained in detail and even includes a list of 78 minerals named after women (an honour indeed, as most are named after men!). Finally, the last category is filled with 1,522 pictures. Nearly all of the mineral images that I viewed were clear and sharp. Quintinite‐2H and Quintinite‐3H were the only two that I viewed that did not load properly.
The search function was easy to use; tips are provided on the home page and under the search engine. While navigating various pages, static advertisements for various mineral vendors and museums appear within the middle of each page (and the bottom of some others) but are not overbearing. One small downfall is that the link to get back to the home page was consistently placed at the bottom throughout the site. Most user‐friendly databases place this button at the top of the page.
Barthelmy, careful to give credit where credit is due, provides a table of references used throughout the database. Included in this is a reference ID for each, so that researchers can use his search engine to easily find all the minerals referenced by a particular person. This seemingly never‐ending free resource is strongly recommended for college students and those interested in mineral research.
