Here is a list of audio books on cassette. (Note that this lists includes interviews and other non-book materials.) Equipment for listening to these cassettes is available for use in Newman Library. Check out headphones from the Circulation Desk.

A book review is an article that is published in a newspaper, magazine, or scholarly work that describes and evaluates a book. Keep in mind while searching for reviews of a book that many books are published each year, only a small fraction of them are reviewed. Reviews are written for different purposes and they will vary in terms of content and depth of evaluation. Since reviews are printed in many different kinds of publications, you may need to search several sources.

Books (also called monographs) is any non-serial publication (not a newspaper, magazine, or journal) about a particular subject, usually written by a single person. While serials are received multiple times (each time a new issue is published), books are received only once (at least until a new edition is published). Scholarly books often include extensive bibliographies. Books can be found in multiple formats (such as audio books or ebooks). The tools used for locating books can also locate manuscripts, or unpublished works. These un-reproduced works are often one of a kind.

Business, company, and industry information, including scholarly articles, financials, and reports can be found in a number of online databases and print reference sources.

Conference proceedings are publications that can include minutes, transcripts, papers, and presentations generated at or for a conference. Papers within the proceedings will be indexes by subject-specific databases, while the proceedings publication, often in book form, will be listed in library catalogs. The Virginia Tech libraries own many conference proceedings, either physically or through online sources; each of these will be listed in Addison. Papers in proceedings not owned locally can be requested through interlibrary loan.

In response to questions regarding the availability of congressional hearings online through GPO Access, GPO staff have prepared the following report on the current status and future plans at GPO for providing hearings electronically.

All congressional hearings are not centrally available on GPO servers at this time. This is due in large part to the fact that committees from the House and Senate do not provide GPO with all hearings to place on GPO servers. Also, there is frequently a delay between the receipt of hearings in hard copy and their subsequent availability online through GPO Access. Below, we outline five ways for users to find congressional hearings on or through GPO Access, and also present some enhancements currently being developed to further improve the ability of customers to access congressional hearings.

The Virginia Tech Libraries provide access to over 700 databases where you can search for articles (and more) on your research topic. Select the appropriate database(s) using these strategies:

• Select a database using a known database title
• Select a database using a general research topic term
• Select a database from a subject listing
• Select a database from a list of general interest databases
• Select a database from broad subject category lists
• Select a database based on the type/format of content
• Select a database from alphabetical lists

The Virginia Tech Libraries has subscribed to a number of ebook packages, giving us access to tens of thousands of books online. (Since these are paid subscriptions, be sure to use Off Campus Sign In before attempting to connect to an ebook outside the campus network.) All of these packages currently allow reading the ebook through the browser, and a few also allow downloading for offline reading or transfer to another device like a PDA or dedicated ebook reader. Most of our ebooks are formatted as PDFs, and thus require no additional software to view (we note below any exceptions to this rule). All of our ebooks have been cataloged in Addison--any usual search will turn up ebooks in the results. However, the search functionality available at each ebook platform typically allows for full-text searches, which may give more results than searches through Addison.

The following digital sheet music collections contain both scanned materials from hard copy originals and digitally born sheet music created in mostly PDF format from various collections around the world.

The University Libraries has a number of foreign language learning materials, including books, CDs and software. In addition, our collections include international literature titles in the original language and translated into English. We also offer titles on American Sign Language.

Manuscripts are a type of primary source material. As such, they provide first-hand testimony or direct evidence of events and experiences—both public and personal—or, simply of a topic under investigation. They are created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events or conditions being documented. While primary sources may either be published or unpublished, manuscripts are unpublished primary sources. A manuscript collection may be a single document or a body of documents created by, belonging or pertaining to, an individual person or a family. It may include diaries, journals, letters, correspondence, family papers, scrapbooks, business or other institutional records, legal documents, or architectural drawings. Not restricted to text written or printed on paper, manuscript materials may also include oral histories and photographs. Or, they may be documents that were born-digital.

The Map Collection at Virginia Tech, the largest in the State outside of the Washington, D.C. area, is divided into two primary collections. Original historic maps are located in Special Collections on the first floor of Newman Library. A Guide to the Map Collection in the Special Collections Department, Newman Library, Virginia Tech, inventories the collection. The majority of maps are housed in the Map/Atlas Section on the first floor of Newman Library.

Topographic coverage of the U.S. and foreign areas produced by the U.S. Geological Survey, Defense Mapping Agency, Australian National Mapping Agency and others form the backbone of the collection. Other important map series include maps of the Census Bureau, CIA, National Geographic Society, National Forest Service and the National Park Service. The collection is rounded out by an extensive collection of state and city road maps, raised relief maps, reproductions of historic maps and views, and nautical and aeronautical charts.

Several digital mapping resources are available. Software and data for map creation, such as ArcView (for Arc Info formatted data files), LandView (for TigerLine and other U.S. government data files) and Map Expert (for roadmaps of the U.S.), are located at the Library Information and Assistance Desk, Torgersen 3300. Additional digital mapping resources can be found on the Maps, GIS and cartographic data page.

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) contain data about the properties of a product. While MSDS contain information helpful for consumers, their primary audience is not consumers, but employees who work with hazardous materials. Employers are required to have a MSDS in the workplace for each hazardous material employees work with. There is no requirement for a retail outlet to provide a MSDS for products they sell to consumers.

Microforms are non-circulating photographic reductions of print materials produced in the interest of saving space,obtaining or preserving rare or heavily used materials, or providing duplicate copies. Newman Library has a microforms collection numbering near 6 million items, including prints of books, magazines, newspapers, and engineering and technical reports.

The Virginia Tech Libraries own thousands of movies on DVD, VHS, and laser disc. Most are located at the Newman circulation desk; a few are in the branch libraries. Instructors can book a movie in advance to show in class.

• Online newspapers search for the newspaper title in our Journal Title Database
• Newspapers currently subscribed to (in print) by the University Libraries
• Newman Library newspaper guide
• Major and local newspapers on microform/paper/online (PDF) includes online/print/microform access, plus print index information
• Newspaper microfiche with NEWSBANK: coverage from 1976-1998
• U.S. and international newspapers from the Center for Research Libraries (request microfilm rolls through ILLiad for a 3 month loan with unlimited renewals)

This list of resources will enable you to retrieve most U.S. patents or trademarks, if you have a specific citation. However, if you have a product idea and want to determine if a similar item has been patented, searching these resources to determine patentability may be difficult.

While the University Libraries at Virginia Tech are primarily focused on serving the research needs of the university community, we still provide a number of pleasure reading books and popular literature.

Primary sources are first-hand accounts of an event or discovery. Primary sources were either created during the time period being studied or were created at a later date by a participant in the events being studied (as in the case of memoirs). Primary sources include autobiographies; letters; emails; diaries; speeches; interviews; laws; treaties; raw data that has been collected; works of literature, art, or music; and newspaper accounts of events by an eye-witness. You should know the name or people or organizations, the dates, and the places involved in your research topic before attempting to find primary sources.

Speeches and other oral communications on topics such as politics, history, science and business can be vital sources for research. Often you will be looking for transcripts of these speeches as opposed to recordings of the speech itself. The library also has sources for transcripts of radio and television programs, particularly news programs. When accessing text of speeches or programs, be sure to check if the text is a summary, except or the full transcript of the speech or program. (See also the Find: Quotations page.)

Tests and measures can include any type of instruments (quantitative or qualitative) that can be used in research. We have multiple search tools, databases, books, and reference materials that can aid you in finding the best instrument for your research.

The library carries some textbooks, either as part of the regular collection or in Reserve if placed there by faculty. Using the list of textbooks at the University Bookstore site, you can search Addison, the library catalog, to see if any are available for check out.

A dissertation (also called thesis or disquisition) is a document that presents the author's research and findings and is submitted in support of candidature for a degree or professional qualification. Theses have been published at Virginia Tech since 1903. Theses and dissertations have been submitted electronically since 1996, with most of these freely available online. The Virginia Tech Libraries owns few theses or dissertations published at other colleges and universities; expect to obtain most of these documents via interlibrary loan. In addition to the search tools referenced below, most subject specific databases (like PsycInfo, Sociological Abstracts, and Engineering VIllage) will provide citations for theses and dissertations in their covered fields.