To search for books on topics in bridge engineering, use BISON, the UB Libraries Catalog, which provides information on the location and availability of 3 million+ books and other materials owned by the UB Libraries. You can connect to BISON at http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/bison/.

BISON can be searched by author, title, and subject. You can also search the catalog by keyword, combining words and phrases. For example, select Keyword and enter the terms:

bridge? AND seismic?

The word "AND" in the above keyword search directs the computer to retrieve records that contain both of your search terms. The question mark ( ? ) is a truncation, or wildcard, symbol and will retrieve records with all forms of the words bridge, bridges, seismic, seismicity, seismically, etc.

Be sure to click on the title of the book and then again at the top of the record where it says AVAILABILITY to find out whether the book is available for you to check out.

Note:  The best way to search for books on bridges in BISON is to search the word "Bridges" as a Subject word rather than a Keyword.  Use the Advanced Search option in BISON and the pull-down menus you will find on that page to do that.

Expanding Your Search for Books Beyond UB

After searching BISON, you can expand your search for books using:

• WorldCat
  http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/worldcat.html
  WorldCat is a mega-catalog with 40+ million records for books and other materials owned by more than 20,000 libraries around the world. If you find a book in WorldCat that isn't available at UB, you can request that we borrow it for you from another library using ILLiad, our Interlibrary Loan Service, at http://library.buffalo.edu/libraries/forms/ILLiad.php

Accessing Electronic Books

The UB Libraries also subscribe to several e-books services.  Electronic books are great!  They are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  And you can search them using keywords.

• ENGnetBASE
  http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/ENGnetBASE.html
  Electronic access to over 700 engineering books published by CRC Press including the Bridge Engineering Handbook; Earthquake Engineering Handbook; Handbook of Structural Engineering, among others.

• Knovel E-Books
  http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/knovel.html
  Full text access to over a thousand science and engineering books. Many of the books are enhanced with interactive tables and graphs.  TIP: When searching KNOVEL, first set the "My Subscription Search Filter (On / Off)" to "On."

To search for journal articles by topic, use a database, such as those listed below. These databases will provide you with a list of references, or citations, to journal articles (and often other types of publications, such as conference papers). In addition to providing you with a complete reference (author's name, article title, journal name, volume/issue number, page numbers, and date), many databases also provide an abstract, or summary, of the article as well as selected full text.

• COMPENDEX Plus (Engineering Index)
  http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/compendex.html
  Provides references plus abstracts and selected full text to journal articles and conference papers in all areas of engineering. Available online for the years 1884 to the present.To check for full text, click on the Full Text button first, then try the SEARCH FOR ARTICLE button.

• ASCE Civil Engineering Database
  http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/asced.html
  Provides references to American Society of Civil Engineers' publications including books, standards, journal articles, conference proceedings, etc., for the years 1979 to the present. UB students can access the full text of articles for current years of ASCE journals via the database. Please note that this is only for the current years and only for journals, and not for other types of ASCE publications listed in this database.

• QUAKELINE
  http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/quakeline.html
  Contains references plus abstracts for books, technical reports, journal articles, conference papers, newspaper articles, slide sets, videos, and maps on earthquake engineering, hazards mitigation, and seismology the years 1987 to the present, with some selective earlier coverage. Please note that all of the items indexed in QUAKELINE are owned by UB ; the LO field of the record will give you location and call number information.

• TRIS - Transportation Research Information Service Online
  http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/tris.html
  Provides access references (and some full text ) to 500,000 bibliographic records for journal articles, papers, and reports on transportation research covering topics such as planning, finance, design and construction, materials, environmental issues, safety and human factors, operations, and infrastructure for all modes including air, highway, rail and maritime transport, and mass transit. Available online for the years 1960 to the present.

• Science Citation Index Expanded
  http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/sci.html
  Provides citations plus abstracts and selected full text where available to journal articles on a wide range of scientific and technical topics. Coverage online is for the years 1969 to the present.Click on the SEARCH FOR ARTICLE button to check for full text.

To determine if UB owns the journal containing the article cited in your reference, you need to search BISON. In BISON, click on the JOURNALS tab, then type in the full name of the journal, for example:

journal of construction engineering and management

You will get a listing showing both the print version (number 1) and, if we have an electronic subscription, the online version (number 2) of the journal:

1 JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT serial
2 JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT ONLINE serial

The record for the online version of the journal will include a link to hte web page for the journal and the full text of articles published in it for a specific span of years . Be sure to check the date of the article you need and match that up with the coverage in the electronic journal. If your article falls outside the specified date range for online coverage, then you will need to use the print journal, which will be shelved by call number on the 3rd floor of Capen Hall in the Science & Engineering Library.

If we don't have the journal in print or online format, we can still arrange to get a copy of an article you need for you from another library through ILLiad, our InterLibrary Loan service (see http://library.buffalo.edu/libraries/forms/ILLiad.php).

Browsing Journals Online

Another way to search for articles is to browse current issues of journals and magazines. Below is a list of selected journals at UB related to bridge engineering which we have online and/or print access to.

To search for other electronic journals that UB subscribes to, go to http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/ft.html

Technical reports describe the progress or results of research and development activities usually conducted under contract to some funding agency, often the government. The UB Science & Engineering Library has a collection of several million technical reports, most of which are on microfiche. They are shelved on the 2nd floor of Capen in the Capen Multimedia Center. A reference librarian can help you determine whether or not we have the technical report you are looking for and locate it for you.

Use the database below to find references plus abstracts to technical reports produced under contract to the federal government.

• NTIS
  http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/ntis.html
  Provides citations plus abstracts for technical reports on government research from 1969 to the present. 

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Patents are a rich, though often overlooked, source of scientific and technical information. Use the database below to search for, and link to the full text of, U.S. and Europena granted patents.

• Ei Patents
  http://library.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/EiPatents.html
  Patent databases on the Ei Village platform include U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) and European Patent Office (EP) patents.  Records include links out to the full text. 

For other patent databases, see http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/guides/engineering/patents.html

Standards are detailed instructions that explain how something is to be manufactured, managed, operated designed, or otherwise handled. SEL has the following standards relating to bridge analysis, design, and construction.

• AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications - 2004
  UGL/SEL REF TG23 .A25
• AASHTO Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges (17th edition, 2002)
  UGL/SEL REF TG310 .A6
• AAHSTO/AWS D1.5-95 Bridge Welding Code
  UGL/SEL REF TG315 .B75
• AASHSTO Guide Specifications for Seismic Isolation Design (2nd edition, 1999, plus 2000 interim guidelines)
  UGL/SEL REF TG310 .G85
• AAHSTO/AWS D1.5-95 Bridge Welding Code (2002 edition)
  UGL/SEL REF TG315 .B75
• ACI Manual of Concrete Pratice
  UGL/SEL REF TA439 .B64
• AISC Code of Standard Practive for Structural Steel Buildings and Bridges
  Available online at http://www.aisc.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=6878
• ASCE Standard for the Structural Design of Composite Slabs
  UGL/SEL REF TA 664 .S72
• ASCE Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Stainless Steel Structural Members
  UGL/SEL REF TA684 .A49
• ASCE Minimum Design Loads for Buildings & Other Structures
  UGL/SEL REF TH 851 .M56
• ASCE Standard Guidelines for the Design and Installation of Pile Foundations
  UGL/SEL REF TA 780 .A523

Internet sites can be an important source for information on "cutting edge" research as well as commercial applications of technology in business and industry. Here are our "picks" for you.

TOP PICKS

• AASHTO Subcommittee on Bridges & Structures Website
  http://bridges.transportation.org/
  Includes a collection of links maintained by the American Association of State Highway Ttansportation Officials to Internet sites containing information on bridges and other large structures.
• AASHTO U.S. Bridge Information
  http://www.iowadot.gov/subcommittee/
  This site addresses frequently asked questions regarding bridges in the federally financed U.S. transportation system, including the numbers of bridges, condition of the bridge inventory, and work done in recent years to improve and invest in that inventory.
• National Bridge Research Organization
  http://www.nabro.unl.edu/
  The focus of the National Bridge Research Organization, at the University of Lincoln, Nebraska, is to develop, collect and disseminate the latest technologies for the advancement of bridge design, construction, retrofit and maintenance.
• Bridge Engineering Home Page
  http://www.scsolutions.com/bridge.html
  This commercial site is an excellent jumping off point on the web for information related to bridge engineering. It includes links to government agencies, associations, research centers, companies, publications, software, and more.
• BridgeSite
  http://www.bridgesite.com/
  This meta-site links to extensive listing of government and association websites as well as other meta-sites, discussuon lists and forums, a photo gallery page, and a particularly well developed listing of bridge software programs.

• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Bridge Technology
  http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/index.htm
• New York State Department of Transportation
  http://www.dot.state.ny.us/
• Other Federal and State Government Highway & Transportation Agencies
  http://www.scsolutions.com/bridge.agencies.html

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

• American Association of State & Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
  http://www.transportation.org/ SEE ALSO: Subcommittee on Bridges & Structures
• American Public Works Association
  http://www.apwa.net/
• American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI)
  http://www.steel.org  SEE ALSO:  BRIDGES
• American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)
  http://www.aisc.org/
• Association of Iron and Steel Engineers (AISE)
  http://www.aise.org/
• American Welding Society (AWS)
  http://www.aws.org/
• American Society for Metals (ASM) International
  http://www.asm-intl.org/
• Precast/Stressed Concrete Institute (PCI)
  http://www.pci.org/
• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
  http://www.asce.org/
• Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research
  http://mceer.buffalo.edu/

MISCELLANEOUS SITES

• National Bridge Research Organization
  http://www.nabro.unl.edu/
  The focus of the National Bridge Research Organization at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is to foster cooperation between academia, industry and government agencies in developing and implementing new technologies related to bridge engineering and construction.
• Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center's Bridges and Structures R+D Page
  http://www.tfhrc.gov/structur/index.htm
  The Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center focuses on advanced research and development related to new highway technologies, specifically the development of more economical, environmentally sensitive designs; more efficient, quality controlled constructions practices; and more durable materials.
• Build a Bridge
  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bridge/
  This interactive website, produced by NOVA Online, presents four bridging scenarios and challenges you to test your knowledge by choosing the right type of bridge to the right location.

Need More Help?

If you need help, please contact UB Enineering Library Nancy Schiller, schiller@buffalo.edu, 645-1338, or MCEER Information Specialist Sofia Tangalos, tangalos@buffalo.edu, 645-1157.