Mechanical Engineering 260 Mechanical Design I Introduction to Basic Library Information Resources i

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Mechanical Engineering 260Mechanical Design
IIntroduction to Basic Library Information
Resources in Mechanical Engineering 19 January
2009Randy Reichardt Science and Technology
Libraryrandy.reichardt_at_ualberta.ca
492-7911http//www.ualberta.ca/science3/mece260-
08.pdf
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Outline of Presentation

• Science and Technology Library
• Mechanical Engineering library resources
• databases of importance
• other mechanical eng resources
• handbooks, manuals, patents standards
• The Web and the Internet
• why most (reliable) information is not found on
  Google
• web sites The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly - how
  to evaluate web sites
• Using Google Groups for Project Management
• Ways to contact me

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Science and Technology Library (Cameron - floors
1-4)

• Houses journals and books on mechanical
  engineering.
• First floor of Cameron is reopened
• eplGo New satellite branch of Edmonton Public
  Library in Cameron
• U of A Libraries are part of the NEOS Libraries
  Consortium
• 52 libraries in 18 library systems in and near
  Edmonton

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Mechanical Engineering Literature

• Many different sources and formats
• Journals, conference publications, databases,
  monographs, encyclopedias, handbooks, manuals,
  product directories, web sites, patents,
  standards...
• Attached handout highlights resources for your
  design project
• handout online at

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Links to Quick Start Guides, resources
on patents and standards, and important online
handbooks
List of suggested databases
OMG! - Facebook! NO! YES!
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Selected Databases of Interest to Mechanical
Engineers
Compendex (1884- ) (7 on list) The primary
database for searching engineering literature.
International coverage of all fields of
engineering and technology, including mechanical
engineering.
Web of Science (1900 - ) (48 on list) Indexes
gt8,000 peer-reviewed journals.
Provides bibliographic data and cited references.
Also allows for Citation Searching
Applied Science Technology Abstracts (2 on
list) (Oct 1983- ) General coverage of
disciplines in applied science and engineering,
including mechanical, aeronautics, automotive,
fire, industrial, space science, etc.
CSA Technology Research Database (1962
present) A mega db of dbs, including Mechanical
Transportation Engineering Abs, METADEX,
Corrosion Abstracts, Aerospace High Technology
Database, and more.
SAE Digital Library (1906-) (39 on list) Index
to thousands of SAE technical papers and
standards. Full-text of SAE Technical Papers
available from 1998-present.
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Full-text Handbook Databases

• ENGnetBASE (16 on list)
• gt1090 titles coverage includes vibration, mech
  engineering (includes engineering design),
  technology management, thermodynamics,
  nanotechnology, fluid dynamics, heat transfer,
  and more.
• Knovel (25 on list)
• gt1800 handbooks and databases coverage includes
  mechanical engineering, fluid mechanics, gas and
  fluid transport, rheology, HVAC, vibration,
  strength of materials, machine design
• Referex Engineering (37 on list)
• gt400 titles coverage includes aeronautical,
  automotive, design, fluid mechanics and dynamics,
  mechanical, robotics, tribology
• Digital Engineering Library (13 on list)
• gt220 titles full text of McGraw-Hill engineering
  books

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Why search patent literature?

• 80 of patent data are not published elsewhere!
• most private enterprises, especially large
  companies, publish in the patent literature
  before, or to the exclusion of, the scientific
  literature
• New technology and inventions are most often
  first disclosed in patents
• Discovering research ideas and solving problems
• Predicting hot-areas of research that can impact
  on current products and those that are in the
  development stage
• Avoiding re-inventing the wheel and spending a
  lot of money doing it
• Avoid infringement
• Monitor patents in a given area of technology, or
  by a company, university or an individual
• Searches for potential cooperation partners and
  licensors
• About Patents and Patent Searching
  http//www.library.ubc.ca/scieng/patents/about_pat
  ents.html

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Patent Sources

• United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
  Web Patent Database
• http//www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html
• full-text coverage from 1 January 1976
• http//pat2pdf.org
• full text of all US patents from 1 (13 July
  1836)
• The Canadian Patent Database
• http//patents1.ic.gc.ca/
• Full text images of Canadian patents from 15
  August 1978.

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Standards Sources

• Standard establishes parameters for design,
  capacity, or property characteristics which
  permit interchangeability of parts and materials
• Standards available online via U of A Libraries
  include
• API, ASHRAE, ASME (includes BPVC), ASTM, AWS,
  CSA, EIA (Electronic Industries Alliance), GPA
  (Gas Processors Assn), IEEE, ISA, NACE, NFPA (Nat
  Fire Protection Assn)
• full print collections include, SAE-J, ACI and
  other standards, and selected holdings of ANSI
• Standards db Specs and Standards aka IHS
  Standards Expert
• If you need a standard and we dont have it,
  contact me asap!

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IHS Standards Expert db

• USERNAME UOA145
• PASSWORD PENCIL55
• then create your own ID and PW to use the IHS db

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Why Cite References?

• Acknowledgement of others work
• Readers (such as your professors!) can follow
  your train of thought
• Readers can locate your sources if they wish to
  follow up on your research
• Failure to cite your references can lead to
  charges of plagiarism and its consequences

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How to Cite?

• Papers and reports you write will include a list
  of the sources used in your research
• You may be required to use a particular style, or
  use one of your choosing
• It is important to use any style correctly and
  consistently
• Question Which style should you use?

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Style Manuals

• A number of style manuals provide guidance to
  citing references, including
• Chicago Manual of Style
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological
  Association
• The ACS Style Guide Effective Communication of
  Scientific Information (Am Chemical Society)
• As a discipline, engineering does not have its
  own standard style guide

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Print copy available in the reference collection,
1st floor, Cameron SciTech Library Z 253 M26
2003
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• The U of A Libraries web site provides links to
  guidelines on research, writing and citation
  styles.

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Is The Internet Useless For Finding Relevant or
Reliable Information?

• Of course not!
• It is a good place to start for finding
  background info and for exploring new ideas
• BUT BE CAREFUL!

• What to watch for?
• Accuracy, bias, authority, currency, permanency,
  plagiarism, source evaluation.

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World Trade Center study freely available on
the web. Is it credible?
Agencies, associations, etc, responsible for
this report are listed on the cover
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Authors of each chapter are given
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Authors credentials, affliliations listed
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SoCal city falls victim to Internet hoax,
considers banning items made with water
ALISO VIEJO, Calif. Sun, Mar. 14, 2004 - City
officials were so concerned about the potentially
dangerous properties of dihydrogen monoxide that
they considered banning foam cups after they
learned the chemical was used in their
production. Then they learned that dihydrogen
monoxide - H2O for short - is the scientific term
for water. "It's embarrassing," said City
Manager David J. Norman. "We had a paralegal who
did bad research. The paralegal apparently fell
victim to one of the many official looking Web
sites that have been put up by pranksters to
describe dihydrogen monoxide as "an odorless,
tasteless chemical" that can be deadly if
accidentally inhaled. As a result, the City
Council of this Orange County suburb had been
scheduled to vote next week on a proposed law
that would have banned the use of foam containers
at city-sponsored events. Among the reasons
given for the ban were that they were made with a
substance that could "threaten human health and
safety.

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Excerpt from entry by Amy Fry, Association of
College Research Libraries blog, 11 Sept 2008
From Washington Post article by Frank Aherns,
Tuesday 09 Sept 2009
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Using Google Groups for Project Mgmt

• How do you manage the flow of information between
  design project team members?
• Team members deal with multiple e-mails, text
  messages, phone calls, paper trails
• Setting up a group for your team will shift how
  you manage your design project
• less meetings to schedule
• reduce number of phone calls, e-mails
• team member can post to the group, upload
  documents, etc., and other members can respond
  directly
• eliminate distribution of multiple copies of same
  document

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Archive of groups work
Manage discussions
Upload and store files
Create pages
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PLEASE join the Engineering Information
Reference Service U Alberta Facebook
group! search engineering reference
alberta in FB to find group
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Contact Info

• Randy Reichardt, Mechanical Engineering Librarian
• Office phone [phone]
• Email randy.reichardt_at_ualberta.ca
• in Mech E 5-8A Thursdays, 1200-1400
• you can also reach me via my own FB page
• http//www.ualberta.ca/science3/mece260-09.pdf