Some ways to start research are:
These tasks can be done in any order, but reference books are a good starting place to find an overview of a topic or to look up basic facts quickly. Books and journal articles will contain more in-depth information. There may be more commentary in journals or magazines than in books if the topic is very recent.
Print books on chemistry are likely to have shelving numbers starting with the following letters:
A select list of chemistry ebooks in the library collection.