General Engineering

Finding Articles and Conference Papers

Applied Science & Technology Abstracts
This database includes only articles from the top 600 most heavily used journals in English. Most of the articles come from journals published by the major American professional societies: ACM, IEEE, ASCE, ASME, SAE, etc. The one great advantage of using this database is that there are hyperlinks out to the electronic full text of the articles, when they are included in Cal Poly's subscriptions.
Compendex (Engineering Village 2)
Compendex is a vast database of over 10 million references to engineering articles, conference papers, and other resources. It covers all engineering topics and includes resources from around the world in many languages. There are no hyperlinks out to Cal Poly's full text journals, so you must search in PolyCat to see if Cal Poly has the items you turn up in the database.
Google Scholar
A version of Google that is supposed to return only scholarly sources.
OAIster
A collection of freely available, previously difficult-to-access, academically-oriented digital resources that is easily searchable by anyone.
Scirus
Scirus is the most comprehensive science-specific search engine on the Internet.

Finding Books

PolyCat
This is Cal Poly Library's own database that lists what is available here at Cal Poly. It lists all our books, government documents, as well as over 50,000 senior projects and masters theses.
LINK+
This database brings together the catalogs of over 30 libraries in California. The main advantage of this database is the ability to place an order to have items in other libraries delivered to Cal Poly for your use.
Melvyl
This database lists over 12 million items contained in the libraries of the University of California system and the California State Library. Melvyl includes primarily books, but it lists many (but, not all) publications from U.S. federal agencies (like the Defense Department, Energy Department, and NASA). Any item you find in Melvyl that is not available at Cal Poly can be ordered through the Kennedy Library's Interlibrary Loan service.
WorldCat
This database is the largest of the book databases. It includes books plus videos, web resources, CD-ROMs, and many other kinds of documents. Again, most things you find listed in the database will have to be ordered through our Interlibrary Loan service.

Engineering Failures

Design paradigms: case histories of error and judgment in engineering.
Call Number: Main. TA174 .P73
From the Titanic to the Challenger : an annotated bibliography on technological failures of the twentieth century.
Call Number: Main. TA169.5 .H47 1989
Minding the machines: preventing technological disasters.
Call Number: Main. TA169.5 .E93 2002
To engineer is human: the role of failure in successful design.
Call Number: Main. TA174 .P474 1985
Why things break: understanding the world by the way it comes apart.
Call Number: Main. TA409 .E32 2003

For more resources, conduct a WORD search in PolyCat using these words:

See also the "Reliability" section of the Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering subject page.

Sustainable Systems

Start by searching PolyCat under the WORD "sustainability." Then, search the article databases.

Engineering Publications: Journal Directories

Ulrich's periodicals directory.
Call Number: REFERENCE DESK Z6941 .U5
http://www.ulrichsweb.com/ulrichsweb/
This directory lists most of the journals published in the world. It can be searched by title and discipline (such as Mechanical Engineering).

Engineering Publications: Journal Abbreviations

Periodical title abbreviations.
Call Number: REFERENCE DESK. PN4832 .P47
World list of scientific periodicals. (1900 & #150; 1960)
Call Number: Reference. Q1.W67

Formula Fundamentals

Handbook of mathematical functions with formulas, graphs, and mathematical tables.
Call Number: Reference. QA3 .U5 no.55.
Washington, DC: GPO, 1964.
Physical laws and effects.
Call Number: Reference. QC28 .H53.
New York: John Wiley, 1958.
Encyclopaedic dictionary of mathematics for engineers and applied scientists.
Call Number: Reference. TA330 .S66 1976
New York: Pergamon, 1976.
The formula manual.
Call Number: Reference. T49 .S7 l975
Cedarburg, WI: Stark Research, 1975.
Engineering mathematics handbook.
Call Number: Reference. TA332 .T85 1998
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998.

How Things Work

How products are made: an illustrated guide to product manufacturing.
Call Number: Reference. TS146.H67
The new illustrated science and invention encyclopedia: the new how it works.
Call Number: Reference. T9 .H74 1987
The way things work.
Call Number: Reference. T47 .M18 1988
World of invention.
Call Number: Reference. T15 .W779 1994