Reference Desk

Instruction

Consultations

Titles at the Reference Desk

Reference Stacks

Online Resources

Electronic Reference Desk
 

Reference Desk

Reference Librarians are available at the Reference Desk to provide professional consultation to library patrons in identifying and retrieving appropriate resources to satisfy information needs. Reference Staff further assist users in developing search strategies for efficient information retrieval, finding answers to simple, short reference questions, and providing instruction in the use of a variety of computer systems and information resources.
 
Reference Librarians are generally available Mondays through Fridays and on Sundays.  Click here for library hours.  Assistance at the Reference Desk is available at all times, either by a librarian or other staff member.
 
The Reference Desk is located at the top of the stairs. Limited telephone reference service is also available by calling 312-567-3616.

Instruction

Staff regularly present workshops on Galvin information systems and resources. To make an appointment for a classroom presentation, contact Jeanne Link at 7-3374 or the Reference Desk 7-3616.  For more information, see the Library's Instruction page.

Consultations

Librarians are available for individual consultations to assist IIT patrons in any aspect of their research, from undergraduate assignments to research papers to theses and dissertation research.  Please see our list of Consultants for librarians' names and specialties.

Resources:

Titles at the Reference Desk

There are a number of heavily used Reference books at the Reference Desk. Some of these include the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Perry's Chemical Engineers Handbook, the World Almanac, Research Centers Directory, the Encyclopedia of Associations, and various manuals for writing term papers and theses.

Reference Stacks

The Reference Stacks contain approximately 9,000 reference books in all fields relevant to IIT. There are a variety of types of reference books including dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, handbooks, and others.

Dictionaries

Reference stacks contain over 1,000 dictionaries including not only the general English language dictionaries but also such specialized dictionaries as Hawley's Condensed Chemistry Dictionary, Materials Engineering Dictionary, McGraw-Hill Electronics Dictionary and Dictionary of Ceramic Science and Engineering.
 

Encyclopedias

Reference has the standard general encyclopedias such as Encyclopedia Americana and Encyclopedia Britannica, but there are also over 100 specialized encyclopedias including The Encyclopedia of Advanced Materials, Encyclopedia of Energy Technology and the Environment, and the Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology.
 

Handbooks

Handbooks account for perhaps as much as 15% of the reference book collection. There are well over 1,000 handbooks including The Control Handbook, the Handbook of Environmental Control Technology, the Standard Handbook of Engineering Calculations, The Electronics Handbook, and the Handbook of Fluid Dynamics and Fluid Machinery.
 

In addition there are almanacs, atlases, approximately 1,000 bibliographies, over 200 biographies, a number of standards, indexes, guides, yearbooks, books of statistics, and others covering all subjects including political science, business, the humanities and the social sciences.

Online  Resources

Students are provided with access to over 80 online databases. Most of these databases include references to published literature, but several include the full-text of about 1,500 journals. The more heavily used are accessible from your laboratories, offices and homes by accessing the Galvin Library website.

A few of these web-based databases include:

• IIT Online, the library's Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) for accessing the collections of the IIT Libraries; I-Share Online for accessing collections at 64 other academic libraries in Illinois; and WorldCat for the collections of 8,000 libraries across the country;
   
  

• IEEE which provides access to IEEE journals, Proceedings, and Conferences;
   
  

• Compendex (known as Engineering Index in its printed form), which is the primary database available for most engineering information;
   
  

• Medline (known as Index Medicus in its printed form) for all fields of medicine;
   
  

• PsycINFO (known as Psychological Abstracts in its printed form) for psychology;
   
  

• ProQuest Direct, which includesProQuest Psychology journals as well as its general database, ProQuest General Reference; 
   
  

• ACM, which provides access to journals and proceedings; and
   
  

• Books 24x7, which includes more than 6500 full-text books online.

The Reference area is also home to the Geographic Information System (GIS) Laboratory and Resource Center.
 

Electronic Reference Desk

The Electronic Reference Desk provides access to a collection of general online reference resources as well as subject specific guides and online access to librarians.