The following free services help you tap into materials throughout the University of Washington Libraries and beyond:
Summit Libraries
We're part of a large network of academic libraries in Washington State and Oregon that shares collections. When you search in UW WorldCat, you'll identify materials in these other libraries, and then request them with the click of a button. Delivery usually takes about 3-5 days. Read more ...
Interlibrary Loan
When you identify materials that aren't available here or in our Summit network, you can request them through our Interlibrary Loan service. Most articles are delivered electronically within a couple of days; books may take 1-2 weeks. Start here to create your account for this free service.
Desktop Article Delivery
Never photocopy another journal article again. When you identify articles in journals that we only have in hard copy at UW Libraries, place your request for them online, and we'll pull it from the shelf, scan the article, and deposit it in your Interlibrary Loan account. Usually takes about one working day. Read more ...
Suggest a Puchase
Suggest that materials be added to the collection. Budgets are tight, but I'll do my best to purchase the books and media that you need to for your research and teaching. Note: subscribing to journals is a bit more challenging, but it never hurts to ask! Contact me or use the Libraries online form.
Google Scholar
find journal articles, conference papers, theses & dissertations, academic websites and more in all subjects. Be sure to check your Google Scholar preferences. Make sure "University of Washington Libraries - Check for Full-Text @ UW" is checked under "Library Links."
For more information about searching Google Scholar to find UW materials, watch the Google Scholar How Do I ...? video.
Civil and Environmental Engineering Research Guide
Your gateway to UW Libraries online and physical materials (books, journal articles, manuals, technical reports, etc.) in Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Urban Design & Planning Research Guide
Your gateway to UW Libraries online and physical materials (books, journal articles, manuals, technical reports, etc.) in Urban Design and Planning.
Powerful search tools for searching decades (past and present) of civil and environmental engineering, general engineering and any related disciplines, all at once.
UW WorldCat searches the UW-Only Catalog, UW Law Library, academic, and public libraries around the world. Use it to find find books, articles, and more. Use the Request button to borrow materials from these libraries. It also allows you to save and email your results, and share them using social bookmarking tools.
Check here if you're looking for a particular journal. If you're looking for articles on a particular topic or in a particular area, choose a research database to search across many journals at once.
Technical Reports are publications published to convey results of research usually funded by government or corporate bodies. When the government performs or sponsors research, they may require that a report of the research be published as a way to maintain public disclosure. Technical reports are most familiar to engineers, geologists, and physicists, but are usually not peer-reviewed. This guide will help you locate technical reports in the Libraries or online.
Conference proceedings are also called Congresses, Symposiums, Colloquiums, etc. They are shelved according to their subject area in the Engineering Library (on the third or fourth floors) or some may be online. This guide will help decipher the often confusing citations of conference proceedings so you can find them in the Libraries.
It is often helpful to explore the published theses in your field. This guide will help you find dissertations and theses written at the UW and at universitiies worldwide.
Here is a list of all Subject guides in the Engineering disciplines.
Looking for research tools in other subjects and disciplines? Visit these pages for other key starting points.