The Libraries seek to support research in civil & structural engineering, engineering mechanics, hydrology and limited environmental engineering including engineering aspects and problems in air pollution, water pollution, water and wastewater treatment and solid and hazardous waste management. It supports the needs of undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. students, the teaching faculty, researchers and staff members.

New courses introduced during the first half of the 1990’s has included smart structures and smart building materials used in civil engineering with interdisciplinary coverage in electrical engineering, materials science, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering; computer based mathematical modeling with interdisciplinary coverage in computer science; infrastructure studies dealing with problems of the city, state and regional infrastructure & rehabilitation & maintenance strategies in the 21st century.

Areas of established specialization are solid mechanics, experimental mechanics, construction engineering, fluid mechanics and hydraulics, soil mechanics, structural engineering including flight structures, smart structures and smart materials including concrete, steel and wood.

Overall, the Libraries’ existing collection, its current acquisitions commitment, based upon available resources, and its collecting goal for Civil Engineering are all at the research level.

1. Formats collected: We collect monographs, periodicals, reference tools and technical reports extensively, textbooks, dissertations, electronic tools selectively, and maps, newspapers or audio/visual materials relating to Civil Engineering are excluded.
2. Imprint Dates Collected: We collect twentieth-century publications extensively and all others selectively.
3. Chronological Focus: We collect materials focusing on twentieth-century topics extensively and all others selectively.
4. Languages Collected: We collect publications in English extensively and German and Russian journals are extremely selectively.
5. Place of Publication: We collect materials published in North America and Western Europe extensively and materials published in Eastern Europe and China selectively.