Engineering @ Imperial College London Library

You can access all of these resources via the Digital Library page on the Library website.

Remember: If you need help using these databases, the Library runs a regular programme of lunchtime training sessions to help you get the most out of them. See the Learning and Research Support Programme area of the Library website for further details and booking information.

If you don’t have time to attend one of these training sessions, you’ll find some of the databases listed below have online tutorials available via the Library website. These tutorials are designed to help you learn how to use the databases more effectively. The tutorials can be accessed 24/7. At present, there are tutorials for GeoRef, Compendex, CSA Illumina, Web of Science and many more.

1. General engineering & science databases

a) Ei Engineering Village 2

Gives access to:

• Compendex
  Engineering bibliographic records, from over 5,000 engineering journals, conference papers and reports. Coverage from 1969 onwards, updated weekly.
• NTIS – National Technical Information Service
  Over 2million records for US government department reports, such as the Department of Energy. Coverage from 1964 onwards, updated weekly.

b) Web of Knowledge

Gives access to:

• Current Contents Connect
  Bibliographic records from 8,000 journals and 2,000 books. Current contents pages can be viewed for individual journal titles. Updated daily.
• Conference Proceedings Citation Index
  2.5million records from over 60,000 conferences held since 1990 and is updated weekly. Can be searched simultaneously with other ISI databases.
• Web of Science
  Multidisciplinary database which indexes around 8,700 international journals, and is updated weekly. Full-text links are provided where content is available.

c) ScienceDirect

Gives you access to full-text articles from all Elsevier-published journals including:

• Journal of Hydrology
• Journal of Petroleum Science & Engineering
• Water Research
• Waste Management
• Engineering Geology
• Marine Geology

2. Civil Engineering & Earth Sciences databases

a) CSA Illumina

Gives access to:

• Aqualine
  Over 300 specialist journals, as well as books, reports, theses and conferences are indexed, focusing on water resources. Major topics include water quality, water and waste analysis, sewage, industrial effluents and so on. Coverage is from 1960 onwards, updated monthly.
• ASFA2: Ocean Technology, Policy and Non-Living Resources
  Abstracts taken from publications focusing on oceanography and its related subjects, such as chemistry and geochemistry, climatology, geology and geophysics, offshore and coastal structures, as well as legislation and policy. Coverage is from 1971, updated monthly.
• ASFA3: Aquatic Pollution & Environmental Quality
  Abstracts taken from publications focusing on research and policy on contamination of water sources such as oceans, rivers and estuaries. Coverage is from 1990 onwards, updated monthly.
• Corrosion Abstracts
  Corrosion science and engineering including topics such as creep, fatigue, marine corrosion, theory and data interpretation and welding. Records are from journals, conference proceedings, reports, books and so on. Coverage is from 1980 onwards, updated monthly.
• CSA/ASCE Civil Engineering Abstracts
  Research literature from international journals, conference proceedings, reports and so on, focusing on civil engineering and related fields, such as bridges, geotechnical engineering, waste management, hydrology, surveying, forensic engineering and much more. Coverage is from 1966 onwards, updated monthly.
• Earthquake Engineering Abstracts
  Earthquake engineering and its sub-topics, such as hazard mitigation, seismic engineering, earthquake resistant design, soil and structural dynamics, and so on. Abstracts from research reports published by PEER and EERC are included as well as other journals, conference proceedings, theses, and so on. Coverage is from 1971 onwards, updated monthly.
• Environmental Engineering Abstracts
  Key research literature covering air and water quality, including subjects such as coastal engineering, environmental impact, pipes and pipelines, sewage and industrial waste treatment, water analysis and so on. Over 500 key journals are indexed, as well as books and conference proceedings. Coverage is from 1990 onwards, updated monthly.
• Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management
  Multidisciplinary bibliographic database covering the environmental sciences, including subjects such as environmental engineering, microbiology, pollution, water resources, and so on. Coverage is from 1967 onwards, updated monthly.
• GeoRef
  The leading geosciences bibliographic database, produced by the American Geological Institute, covering geological and geotechnical engineering, including subjects such as petrology, structural geology, geophysics, hydrogeology, hydrology and engineering geology. Sources include journals, books, conference proceedings, maps, theses and reports. Coverage is from
• METADEX
  Bibliographic records providing information on properties and applications of metals and alloys, including subject areas such as steel, corrosion, testing and analysis, environmental issues, and much more. Coverage is from 1966 onwards, updated monthly.
• Oceanic Abstracts
  Information on subjects relating to oce ans, including physical oceanography, marine pollution, shipping, navigation and more. Coverage is from 1981 onwards, updated monthly.
• Water Resources Abstracts
  Research and technical literature including journals, conference proceedings, books, government publications and reports covering water supply and treatment. Related topics include groundwater, desalination, water quantity management, water law and so on.
  Coverage is from 1967 onwards, updated monthly.

b) OvidSP

Gives access to:

• Transport
  Transportation research and economic information. It is produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the US Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT).

c) Construction Information Service

Full-text document service, giving access to many reports published by UK engineering organisations and government agencies, such as the Building Research Establishment, CIRIA, the Transport Research Laboratory, Department for Transport, the HSE and so on.

d) Digimap (registration required before use)

Provides access to the Ordnance Survey data collection which allows you to generate and view maps online and download data for use in GIS or CAD software. Includes complete coverage of Great Britain with contemporary Ordnance Survey maps and data.

e) Civil Engineering Database

Over 100,000 records from ASCE published journals and conference proceedings. Coverage is from 1970 to the present.

f) Coal Abstracts (ask library staff for username & password)

Bibliographic records covering areas related to clean coal technologies such as clean coal demonstration plants, coal-fired power stations, emission standards etc. 1987 -

g) Concrete Society Reference Search

Bibliographic records covering cement and concrete. Sources include over 1200 journals plus books and conferences.

h) ICE Virtual Library

Full-text articles published in ICE proceedings and conferences from 1837 onwards.

i) Immage

Over 90,000 records from international minerals industry publications including research papers, books, reports and conference proceedings. 1979 -

j) SPE eLibrary

Full-text access to all publications of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. 1958 -.

3. Standards databases

a) British Standards Online

Full-text database of British Standards and Eurocodes. Contains current and historical standards and is updated daily.

b) Standards Infobase

Bibliographic database covering over 600,000 worldwide standards. Useful for checking the details of a standard or finding equivalent standards.

4. Theses & dissertation databases

a) Dissertation Abstracts

Citations and abstracts of dissertations and theses from over 1,000 North American graduate schools and European universities.

b) Index to Theses

Citations and abstracts of UK and Ireland higher degree theses and
dissertations. Citations date from 1716 onwards with abstracts being
available from 1970 onwards.

5. Statistics resources

a) Department for Transport: Transport Statistics

UK official transport statistics website, including Road Traffic statistics, Road Casualties in Great Britain etc.

b) Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS)

UK national data service, including ESDS Government giving access to related resources and datasets such as the National Travel Survey, Time Use Survey etc. Registration required.

c) Eurostat

Official website of the Statistical Office of the European Communities, providing access to EU-wide statistics relating to many subjects, including transport and energy.

d) National Statistics

UK national statistics website, including travel and economic statistics.