| Searching the Catalogs | Reference Collection | Indexes to the Literature | Computerized Searches Available |
The State Library is recognized as an excellent source of publications on the applied sciences and technology. Some of the types and forms of this literature are:
The State Library's on-line and microfiche catalogs provide access to most technical publications by author, title, or subject. The items in some collections, such as technical reports, patents, specifications, and standards are not individually cataloged. Ask a librarian about access to these publications.
Although much of the technical literature is housed on non-public floors, an extensive collection of reference works in technology is readily available on the public floor in Dewey classifications 600-609 for general technical works and 620-699 for works arranged by subject discipline. (Classes 610-619 are for medicine. Medical technology is coded 610.28.)
The Library's Reference collection contains many abstracting and indexing publications providing excellent access to technical information published as periodical articles, technical reports, State and Federal government documents, and other forms of the literature. A finding aid to these indexes, the Selected List of Abstracts and Indexes in Science and Technology, is available at the Reference Desk.
Several indexes to technical literature on compact disk (CD-ROM) may be searched by users at the Electronic Reference Station. Examples are an index to publications of the National Technical Information Service, the Classified Search and Support Information System (CASSIS) database for U.S. patent information, and an index to recent U.S. Government Printing Office publications, which include much technical information.
On-line searches of all major technical databases are available.