Resources
These databases are great for any topic in engineering (and related disciplines)! Keep in mind each has their strengths and weaknesses - Google Scholar is great for niche topics that you already know what you are looking for, while Engineering Village can be great for exploring topics with it's extensive thesaurus and ebooks.
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Dimensions PlusDimensions Plus indexes more than 100 million publications, ranging from articles published in scholarly journals, books and book chapters, to preprints and conference proceedings. Dimensions Plus is an extensive and fully interlinked database with publications, grants, patents, clinical trials, datasets and policy documents. 1600s to present.
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Engineering VillageEngineering Village is the search interface to three engineering databases: Compendex, Inspec, and Knovel. Compendex (1884-present) indexes citations and abstracts from over 5,000 engineering journals, conference papers, books, patents, dissertations, and technical reports. Inspec (1898-present) indexes citations and abstracts from journal articles, conference proceedings, books, and dissertations in engineering and physical sciences. Knovel provides ebooks on engineering and related subjects.
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SciTech Premium Collection from ProQuestThe SciTech Collections indexes citations, abstracts, and full text from journal articles, books, conference papers, trade publications and more. Some full text provided in HTML and PDF.
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ScopusScopus indexes citations of journal articles, conference papers, and books in the sciences, medicine, social sciences, arts, and humanities. You can perform cited reference searches. You can compare authors, institutions, and journals using various metrics. Helpful resources include Scopus training videos, Scopus webinars (recorded and upcoming), and the Quick reference guide PDF. Coverage spans from the 1800s to the present.
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Web of Science from Clarivate AnalyticsThe Web of Science (WoS) research platform hosts multiple, specialized databases covering academic literature, conference proceedings, patents, and other scholarly content. At the heart of the platform is the Web of Science Core Collection, a curated set of citation indexes for high-quality, peer-reviewed journals, books, and conference proceedings. Additional databases cover specific subject areas (e.g. biology), formats, or regional publications (e.g. Korean). Users may search across all databases on the platform or select a specific database from the 'Search in' drop-down menu.
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Google ScholarTo show VText links that will connect you to full-text content through the VT Libraries' subscriptions or follow these directions to manually make those links appear.
The resources here are organized by type - be sure to check them all out! This tab has specialized databases for construction and more that are useful for finding articles, conference proceedings and more. Looking for even more databases? Check out our full Engineering & Physical Sciences list!
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ASCE LibraryThe ASCE Library contains the full text of journals (from 1983), conference papers (from 2000), standards (current and historical), and ebooks.
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Building GreenBuildingGreen includes online versions of GreenSpec, "Environmental Building News", a database of green products (product descriptions and articles about the products), and a database of more than 160 high-performance building case studies (all in HTML). This information is searchable and cross-referenced by CSI MasterFormat division, LEED credit, or green building topic. 1992-present.
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Building Types OnlineBuilding Types Online is a resource for architectural design, offering over 1,300 contemporary building case studies, 6,300 architectural drawings, and 2,700 photographs. It covers diverse building types—including housing, offices, museums, schools, and libraries—and provides detailed floor plans and high-quality illustrations useful for architectural study and practice. All content was written and curated by experts in architectural design.
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Construction Criteria Base (CCB) from the National Institute of Building SciencesCCB is an extensive electronic library of construction guide specifications, manuals, standards, and other essential criteria documents. Published and updated continuously, CCB contains the complete unabridged, approved, current electronic equivalents of over 10,000 documents direct from participating federal agencies
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DETAIL InspirationDETAIL provides reports on construction solutions, including photos and architectural plans.
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FIMo Fire Insurance Maps OnlineLarge-scale maps of towns and cities in Virginia and Washington, D.C., useful to urban specialists, social historians, architects, geographers, genealogists, local historians, planners, and environmentalists. Data contained includes the outline of each building; size, shape, and construction materials; functions of structures; locations of windows and doors; street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, and house and block numbers.
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GreenFILE from EBSCOhostGreenFILE indexes citations, abstracts, and full-text articles, books, case studies, conference papers, speeches and interviews, letters, and reports covering all aspects of human impact to the environment including agricultural, architectural, engineering, education, and the social sciences. Full text is available in HTML and PDF. You can limit to peer-reviewed sources. Free access version is also available. 1913-present.
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IEEE XploreIEEE Xplore contains full text documents from IEEE and IEE journals, transactions, magazines, ebooks, letters, conference proceedings, standards, and IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) publications. Full text content is provided as PDFs.Full-text journals back to 1884, conference proceedings back to 1951.
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Material ConneXionMaterial ConneXion provides full-text data on materials used in architecture, interior and industrial design, fashion and apparel, and landscaping. Materials include polymers, ceramics, glass, metals, cements, and natural materials. Processing and sustainability information, physical and usage properties, and manufacturers are listed.
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SmartBuilding Index from Reed Construction DataSmartBuilding Index provides architects, spec writers, engineers and contractors with in-depth information on commercial building products - including technical data, sourcing, cost data, project use examples, and downloadable specs, CAD and BIM objects.
Also checkout these two free web databases:
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Building Data Tools from energy.gov: DOE developed and provides a comprehensive collection of tools for accessing, managing, analyzing and sharing building energy data
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ICONDA CIBlibrary: database for CIB and related publications, compiled and hosted by Fraunhofer IRB
Looking for alternatives to your textbooks? Or handbooks? Or just getting up to speed on a new topic? These resources are for you to help learn everything from standard engineering courses to coding languages and more! (Be sure use Discovery Search too with the book filter - we have many, many ebooks!)
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AccessEngineering from McGraw-HillAccessEngineering provides engineering handbooks and textbooks, plus instructional videos.
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ASM Handbooks OnlineASM Handbooks Online features the complete content of all ASM Handbook volumes plus two ASM Desk Editions (the Engineered Materials Handbook and the Metals Handbook). The ASM Handbook Online contains peer-reviewed, trusted information in every area of materials engineering and is the industry's best known and most comprehensive source of information on metals and materials technology.
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Engineering Case Studies OnlineEngineering Case Studies Online provides full-text reports, videos, event timelines, maps, audio footage and transcripts, blueprints, and other archival content on engineering failures and successes. The collection includes approximately 250 hours of video and 50,000 pages of text resources, featuring in-depth coverage of 50 major case studies along with supplementary materials on more than 1,000 additional failures. Content spans historical and contemporary events from the early 20th century to the present.
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IEEE Online CoursesProvides on-demand courses in engineering and technology through the IEEE Learning Network. Topics include AI, 5G/6G, smart grids, cybersecurity, and related areas. Virginia Tech users have access to four course sets plus selected free courses. Users may create a free IEEE profile to track progress and earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and certifications. Please Note: Some courses may be dated; check publication year before use.
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JoVE UnlimitedThis package is JoVE’s complete video library. It includes all research journals−Behavior, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Biology, Chemistry, Developmental Biology, Engineering, Genetics, Immunology & Infection, Medicine and Neuroscience−and all sections of Encyclopedia of Experiments (Biology and Cancer Research). JoVE Education collections, such as JoVE Core, Lab Manuals, and all Science Education subjects−Biology, Chemistry, Clinical Skills, Environmental Sciences, Engineering, Physics and Psychology−is also included.
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Knovel LibraryKnovel is an online library of technical reference works for engineers and applied scientists. It provides full-text searchable ebooks on engineering and related subjects, with interactive features such as tables, graphs, and equations. Users can extract data, including material properties for thousands of chemical compounds, and export results to tools like Excel. Some content is available offline via the Knovel mobile app. Coverage varies by title. Knovel is also searchable through the Engineering Village interface.
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O'Reilly for Higher EducationO’Reilly is a digital learning platform providing access to a large collection of books, videos, and other resources focused on technology and business topics. It offers a wide range of content from O'Reilly and other publishers, including early-release books, audiobooks, live events, and interactive sandboxes.
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Wolfram MathWorldWolfram MathWorld is an online mathematics reference resource that provides full-text articles with bibliographic citations, a glossary of mathematical terms, downloadable Mathematica notebooks, and guidance for using Mathematica. The site covers a wide range of mathematical topics and includes interactive features such as 3D graphics and classroom summaries for key terms. MathWorld is actively maintained and updated, and entries include metadata such as Dublin Core and Mathematics Subject Classification.
Here you will find some options for intellectual property and standards. We also have detailed information on some of these on other pages if seeking more:
- Patents & Trademarks: guides.lib.vt.edu/ptrc/quick
- Copyright: guides.lib.vt.edu/oa/copyright
- Standards: guides.lib.vt.edu/find/byformat/engineering-standards (note purchasing policy)
Looking for other types of materials? Check out all the types in our Resources by Format Guide!
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Dimensions PlusDimensions Plus indexes more than 100 million publications, ranging from articles published in scholarly journals, books and book chapters, to preprints and conference proceedings. Dimensions Plus is an extensive and fully interlinked database with publications, grants, patents, clinical trials, datasets and policy documents. 1600s to present.
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Lens.orgSearches patent and scholarly publication data, with over 100 million patent records across 95 jurisdictions world-wide, and over 200 million scholarly records from PubMed, Crossref, and more. Many filtering and search options with advanced boolean functions, structured searches, classification searches and more. Lens.org also includes options for searching biological sequences included in patents.
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MADCADMADCAD provides searchable, full-text access to building codes, design and evaluation standards, and technical bulletins. Content includes materials from organizations such as ASCE, ASHRAE, ASME, ASTM, FEMA, and SMACNA, as well as legacy codes from BOCA, SBCCI, ICBO, and current codes from the International Code Council (ICC). The database also contains selected state and international codes, such as Virginia state codes, available in HTML and PDF formats.
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ASTM Digital LibraryASTM Compass is the portal for the ASTM full-text standards, technical engineering reports, journals, manuals, ebooks, and data series. These materials cover a wide range of engineering disciples: aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil, environmental, geological, health and safety, industrial, materials science, mechanical, nuclear, petroleum, soil science, and solar engineering. The site includes all current issues and backfiles of all ASTM journals, all symposia papers (published in book format as Special Technical Publications), and all ASTM manuals and monographs. The library also includes current and historical ASTM standards. 1931-present.
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IEEE XploreIEEE Xplore contains full text documents from IEEE and IEE journals, transactions, magazines, ebooks, letters, conference proceedings, standards, and IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) publications. Full text content is provided as PDFs.Full-text journals back to 1884, conference proceedings back to 1951.
This tab has resources for researching industry such as looking up companies specialized in manufacturing specific technologies or market assessments. See the business guides for more options - these are just to get you started!
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Business Source Complete from EBSCOhostBusiness Source Complete is a citation, abstracts, and full-text database that indexes journals; books; financial data; reference works; conference proceedings; company, industry, investment, marketing, and country reports; SWOT analyses; and case studies. Full text is provides as HTML and PDF. You can limit to peer-reviewed sources. 1886-present; most content is 1980s-present.
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FactivaFactiva is a global news and business information database owned by Dow Jones that provides access to more than 33,000 sources from over 200 countries in 32 languages. It includes content from newspapers, trade journals, websites, newswires, and television and radio transcripts. Factiva offers tools for searching, tracking industry developments, and analyzing company and market information. News coverage spans 1979–present; financial data coverage begins in the 1960s.
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IBISWorldIBISWorld provides industry market research reports for over 700 U.S. industries at the 5-digit NAICS level, along with specialized reports on niche and emerging sectors. Reports include analysis of industry performance, trends, operating conditions, and supply chains. Additional business environment reports cover economic and demographic indicators affecting industry outlook. Coverage spans current and forecast data; reports are updated regularly.
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MarketResearch.comMarketResearch.com provides access to a wide range of reports and industry analyses covering sectors such as consumer goods, healthcare, technology, heavy industry, and public services. Reports are sourced from multiple publishers and include data on market trends, forecasts, competitive landscapes, consumer behavior, and company profiles. Users can search by industry, region, or specific companies, with reports available by section or in full. The database supports business professionals, academic researchers, and students seeking data to inform strategic planning and market analysis.
Looking for RS Means?
The Art & Architecture Library provides access to RSMeans Online. Email Sarah Over, sover05@vt.edu, for login information.
Print copies of the most recent editions are available on Reserve in the Art & Architecture Library.
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Building Construction Cost Data
by
Get the confidence and knowhow you need to deliver more accurate cost estimates and improve profitability. The 76th edition of this bestselling cost guide has been updated and expanded to provide you with the information you need to estimate projects with confidence and accuracy, improve project planning and budgeting, and reduce risk.
ISBN: 9781946872012Publication Date: 2018
Interlibrary Loan Services
All current Virginia Tech students, faculty, and staff, regardless of your location, may request through ILLiad for materials:
- not owned by Virginia Tech (books, articles from journals and conference proceedings, book chapters, standards, and technical papers)
- owned by Virginia Tech but are unavailable for use (print books)
- owned by Virginia Tech and available in print (scans of articles from journals and conference proceedings, book chapters, standards, and technical papers)
We ship requests via UPS to users outside the immediate Blacksburg area (Montgomery, Giles and Pulaski counties).
Articles, book chapters, and many technical papers are delivered in PDF format to your ILLiad account. Occasionally, due to copyright restrictions, a paper copy of an article or standard is held for your at the Newman User Services Desk or sent o the mailing address listed on your account.
Engineering Reference Sheets
Some engineering material can be difficult to locate. These reference sheets give general information about the resource as well as instructions on how to retrieve the material from the Virginia Tech library collection.
- AIAA: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
- ASCE: American Society of Civil Engineers
- ASME: American Society of Mechanical Engineers
- ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials
- NACA & NASA: National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics & National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- SAE: Society of Automotive Engineers
- Engineering standards
- Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
- Patents and Trademarks
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