Borrowing Books

You can search and request to have a physical book (or any other items from the circulating collections) delivered to any of our libraries. For example, place a request for a book that is located in Mann Library to be delivered to Uris Library Tower, and simply pick it up once you get a notification email saying that it is ready.

Is the book currently checked out to another person? You might be able to recall the book, which will send the borrower a notice to return the book sooner than the original due date. You can also request a book through Borrow Direct, a system that allows you to search and borrow from the combined library catalogs of participating institutions, including Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, and Yale.

Not finding a book in the Library Catalog? Submit a request for Borrow Direct (faster delivery, if available) or Interlibrary Loan (ILL), which allows Cornell Library users to borrow books from other libraries and universities.

Or feel free to Recommend a Purchase!

E-books, Encyclopedias & Handbooks

Many encyclopedias and handbooks are in digital format. For example, CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics is available online and provides easy access to chemical and physical data. Others include:

Databases with reference materials, such as handbooks, include:

Journals and Journal Articles (and Preprints)

Depending on research area, researchers are increasingly publishing their work prior to peer review, called preprints. Preprint servers with a focus on earth and atmospheric sciences include Earth and Space Science Open Archive (ESSOAr) and EarthArXiv. Read more about preprint initiatives in this field with the Science Insider news article, titled Dueling preprint servers coming for the geosciences.

Technical Reports

Technical reports are usually produced to provide in-depth information on a research project to a funding agency. These reports often include detailed research process, data, and results. However, these are usually not peer-reviewed.

Finding technical reports can be hard -- don't hesitate to ask for help at engrref@cornell.edu.

Good starting points for finding governmental reports are:

For non-governmental reports, you can start your search from:

  • Engineering Village database for American Society for Mechanical Engineers) technical papers
  • SAE Mobilus database for Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) technical papers

Standards and Safety Information

Safety information will be in standards and federal codes and regulations.

ASTM Standards are available online. This includes thousands of standards and ASTM journals.

Patents

If you are interested in commercializing your work and don't know where to start, look for prior art (or patents) in your research topic. These databases let you search patents from many countries:

To apply for a patent, get advice on patent licensing, or help with copyright questions, reach out to: