The University Libraries Web, the Library Information Access System (LIAS), is the gateway to the wide range of resources that are available to the Penn State community. These include The CAT, the catalog of the materials that the University Libraries own, databases in a number of subjects, full text journal collections, and some full text reference materials. The CAT and the databases that are most useful in engineering science will be reviewed. After the summary of the database, there is a link to a web page with more detailed information and examples. The list of databases available through LIAS is called the E-Resources List All the described databases and their descriptions are on the List.
The CAT provides author, title, and subject access to 'whole items.' Whole items means that the entire resource is indexed without information to the parts of the work. For example, a conference will be listed by the title of the conference, the editor, the sponsoring agency, and subject headings. The individual papers presented at the conference will not be indexed in the CAT. Journal titles will be listed, but not individual papers published in the journal. For access to individual articles or conference papers a subject database is used.
Materials that are indexed in the CAT include books, journal titles, computer files, CD ROMs, conferences, videos., maps, etc.
Compendex (Computerized Engineering Index) is the major index to all branches of engineering. It indexes journal articles and conference papers from 1884 -. You may search by author, title words, keyword or subject headings. After searching Compendex you may see a link [yellow button] for the full text. If there is no full text link, use the Get It! button and follow the directions there.
IEEE Xplore contains the full text of all IEEE and IEE journal articles, conference papers, and standards published since 1988.
Ingenta indexes over 11 million articles from over 25,000 journals and magazines. If the University Libraries has the article, a book icon is maroon. If the Libraries does not own the article, the icon is white and the article can (usually) be ordered at no charge to the student. Delivery is via email or fax.
NTIS (National Technical Information Service) is a major index to technical reports. A major part are on the various branches of engineering. Coverage starts with 1964. You may search by author, title, keyword or subject headings. There is no call number, but each report is identified by a ID number, which is the number used in filing the reports, on microfiche, in cabinets on the left side of the Engineering Library. If the report you need is not in the file cabinet, ask for assistance at the circulation desk in the Engineering Library. We can order the report for you. It normally takes approximately ten days for the report to arrive.
ProQuest is a multi-disciplinary database which indexes over 5000 journals, magazines and newspapers. Approximately one third are full text. While coverage of engineering topics is not strong from a technological sense, it is very good for looking at the social and economic aspects and there are some appropriate journals indexed.
MEDLINE (which stands for MEDlars onLINE) is the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) premier bibliographic database. It includes the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences. MEDLINE has 9 million citations and author abstracts from current biomedical journals published in the U.S. and 70 foreign countries.
PubMed has a tutorial at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_tutorial/m1001.html
Science Citation Index is a unique index that allows you to discover what subsequent publications have included a reference to an earlier, pertinent publication in their bibliography. SCI indexes 3200 titles in all areas of science and technology. Searching is done via author name. The theory behind citation indexing is simple. If a later paper references a paper that you have found useful, there is a strong possibility that the later paper might be useful to you. Citation indexing provides that link so you can locate these new papers.
Access Science Online version of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Excellent resource for definitions and descriptions of technological topics.
Patent and Trademarks - Schreyer Business Library
Very useful page to describe patents and where to find them. A tutorial is available at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/business/Patents/index.html
US Patent and Trademark Office
Searchable database with full text patents from 1976-
General Web Sites
The Engineering Library web page is a 'one stop' summary of quality web sites. It includes general resources of use to engineers, subject specific sites, links for full text materials (journals, magazines, technical reports and some handbooks), and instructional guides with an engineering focus.
Enhanced and Evaluated Virtual Library (EEVL)
Search or browse this large, annotated collection of engineering web sites. Frequently updated.
Excellent resource from University of California, Riverside. Search the site or browse by category.
Free web search from Elsevier. Search the site by topic, author, affiliation, some citation searching.
Google search the academic Internet world. Has links that can take you to full text if Penn State has a subscription. Some use in citation searching.
The University Libraries is purchasing an increasing number of journals in electronic format so the patron can use the materials on their desktop. In addition, a number of agencies are beginning to put their reports up on the Web full text.
To locate journals that are available, search the CAT by the journal name. If there is an electronic version a URL will be noted in the record. Click on the link and follow the directions on the screen. Most of these titles are only available in electronic format for the last few years. See IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics for an example.
For more information on electronic journals and how to access them see the Remote Database Access Guide .
Other Information
Sometimes it is difficult to know where a journal is indexed. A well kept secret is the following guide. It lists journals, publication data and who indexes each publication. Give it a look.
Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory
Ulrich's (Z6941.U5) is generally used by librarians, however it serves a very important role for the student/researcher. If you know a few good journals, Ulrich's can tell you which databases index those journals. Go to the index volume of Ulrich's and look under the title of the journal in question. It will give you a page number in bold.
For example, Journal of Computational Physics is page 5966. On page 5966 is an entry for the journal with information about it. One entry lists INSPEC, Aerospace, Materials Science, Science Citation Index, and Compendex.
Services provides an electronic link to Interlibrary Loan which borrow materials that the University Library does not own.
My Library Record allows you to renew your books without bringing them back to the library (2 times, anyway) and lets you check what books you have out, when they are due, what is on hold, fines, etc.
WorldCat - WorldCat is an index to the combined collection of thousands of libraries around the world. It has over 38 million records. Use it to verify a citation or to locate who owns a title.
Citation Guides
Engineering does not have a specific citation guide. The options are to use a general guide, one from anther discipline, or to use a guide from your specific professional society. For more information see the Engineering Libraries' How to Guide to Bibliographic Citations
Bonnie Osif, October 18, 2004, updated October 5, 2005
Site for BIOE 406/506.
Send all questions and comments to Bonnie Osif