Thomas W. Conkling

Engineering Information Resources on the Web

Abstract Engineering information is steadily moving onto the Internet in a mixture of fee-based and free sites. Printed resources are still very important to the field, but Web-based electronic journals, databases, and document image files are now bringing information directly to the desktop. Commercial organizations, professional societies, and government agencies are all actively developing online products. This paper examines the current state of engineering information on the Web. The available formats and access options for the major types of resources used by engineers and engineering students are reviewed.

The u.s. department of energy Information bridge: Technical reports for the desktop

Abstract The U.S. Department of Energy and its predecessor agencies have been involved in various depository programs for their technical reports for over 40 years. An online service on the World Wide Web, called the DOE Information Bridge , has recently replaced distribution of physical paper reports. The Information Bridge also serves as an archive for electronic copies of DOE-sponsored technical reports. This article explores the capabilities of the new site and examines its implications for users and librarians.

Technical report demand at a research university

Abstract The demand for technical reports among the faculty, students, and staff of the Pennsylvania State University has been studied. The study focuses on noncurrent technical reports, that is, those at least one-year-old. Data was collected from an ongoing report ordering program. A detailed profile is presented of both the users and of the reports used.

The use of aerospace journal citations in collection management

The format and age of citations appearing in current issues of five aeronautical and aerospace journals are studied. Journal articles were the most highly cited items followed by conference papers, books, technical reports, and dissertations. AIAA papers represented 37% of the conference papers cited, and NASA and NACA reports made up 36% of all technical reports cited in the sample. For all formats, 50% of the citations were from the last 7 years, 75% were from the last 14 years, and 90% were from the last 24 years. The collection management implications of these statistics are discussed.

The three mile island unit 2 decontamination and recovery collection

Abstract The decade-long cleanup project at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 nuclear reactor was well documented by technical reports, videotapes, photographs, and slides. The Penn State University Libraries have acquired a large number of these materials from GPU Nuclear Corporation and have created a publicly accessible collection. The TMI Unit 2 Decontamination and Recovery collection consists of 3,400 videotapes, 6,000 photos and slides, and several hundred technical reports. The development of the collection and access to these materials are described in this paper.

The TMI-2 clean-up project collection and databases

A publicly accessible collection containing several thousand of the videotapes, photographs, slides and technical reports generated during the clean-up of the TMI-2 reactor has been established by the Pennsylvania State University Libraries. The collection is intended to serve as a technical resource for the nuclear industry as well as the interested public. Two Internet-searchable databases describing the videotapes and technical reports have been created. The development and use of these materials and databases are described in this paper.

Providing Technical Report Services in the Academic Library

Technical reports are a valuable information resource for faculty and students in engineering and the sciences. Academic libraries should have service plans designed to handle requests for these materials. This paper reviews some of the options available for providing reference services and document delivery for the technical report literature.