COLLECTION AREA
Engineering
HISTORY
Thayer School was founded in 1867 by General Sylvanus Thayer as the first professional School of Engineering in the United States. It was Thayer's strong belief that engineers ought to be educated in the liberal arts as well as being proficient in the technical skills needed in their profession. He felt that essential to the best engineering was an understanding of the economic, cultural, historical, and political environment in which the technology would be developed and applied. In 1867, General Sylvanus Thayer made a donation of $40,000 to the Trustees of Dartmouth College "for the purpose of establishing... a School or Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering". Thayer's dream became a reality four years later in 1871, when "Thayer School of Architecture and Civil Engineering" opened its doors.During the early years, Thayer School took up residence in several locations on campus before becoming permanently housed in Cummings Hall in 1939. Between 1939 and 1990, building additions, renovations and a major expansion were made to accommodate increased interest, growth and enrollment in engineering. The new facilities included two lecture halls, increased office space for both faculty and students, and increased laboratory and classroom space to accommodate the fields of Bio-engineering, Cold Regions Science and Engineering, and Computer and Electrical Engineering. During these years, the Cook Engineering Design Center (CEDC) was endowed by Marian Miner Cook as a memorial to her husband, John Brown Cook.
John Brown Cook graduated from Dartmouth College in 1929. He became universally recognized as one of the telephone industry's greatest leaders. In 1969 he joined the Thayer School Board of Overseers, and was active on the Board until 1975. He was dedicated and committed to both technological innovation and the education of engineers. The CEDC is the direct, working connection between Thayer School and industry. Companies present the Center with challenges or problems they are facing, and become CEDC Associates by sponsoring student projects that respond to those needs. By working with these Associates, Thayer School students develop specific skills that are of value to companies -- and discover first-hand the importance of innovation, development, and entrepreneurship in the marketplace.
The Thayer School of Engineering comprises both the Undergraduate Department of Engineering Sciences of Dartmouth College and a graduate professional school in engineering. Undergraduate programs emphasize interdisciplinary study in the engineering sciences within the context of a broad-based liberal arts education. At the graduate level, Thayer School offers degrees through the doctorate combining scholarship, research, experimentation, problem-solving, and design.
A statement by Ernest Martin Hopkins, Eleventh President of Dartmouth College, summarizes the philosophy of this unique engineering school. The policy of the Thayer School of Engineering is based on the belief that the purpose of an education is to give a person breadth and depth in his knowledge. Under this policy, the educated engineer must first of all have acquired the general culture which it is the purpose of a liberal arts college to give, and must then have superimposed on this specialized knowledge in the field of engineering, and factual information essential to the basic principles of engineering. The purpose of the Thayer School, thus, is to give to the college-educated person knowledge of the fundamental theory and practice of engineering, and at the same time to induce him to see a relationship of engineering to life as a whole.
GENERAL PURPOSE
The collection supports the Thayer School faculty and students in their research and curriculum needs. In addition there are other programs at Dartmouth, including mathematics, physical sciences, environmental studies, computer sciences and the Medical School, whose students and faculty use the engineering collection on a regular basis.Collection development emphasis is on acquiring current, not historical, literature in support of the current research and instructional needs of the faculty and students. This does not preclude the purchase of relevant literature in areas such as history of technology, for example. Subject strengths in the engineering collection include: biomedical engineering, biochemical engineering, environmental engineering, electrical/computer engineering and mechanical engineering.
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE PROGRAM
Dartmouth College offers two undergraduate programs through the Thayer School: a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree with a major in engineering sciences and a five year Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) degree. Sample fields of study in the engineering sciences program are bio/chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, environmental engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering with special interest in fluid and thermal sciences and mechanical systems. All students must complete an honors thesis or a culminating experience, both requiring independent research.The graduate programs include: a Master of Engineering Management (M.E.M.) degree, a Master of Science (M.S.) degree and a Doctor of Engineering (Ph.D.) degree. There are also two joint degree programs: M.D./Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering is a joint program between the Thayer School and the Dartmouth Medical School; M.E.M./M.B.A. degree is a joint program between the Thayer School and the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration.
GENERAL SUBJECT BOUNDARIES
The major holdings in Engineering are in LC classes T-TX. In addition, holdings fall in various Q classes (especially QA, QC and QD) and in H class. We have a shared interest with the Sherman Art Library and the Biomedical Libraries in the LC classes of TT and TX respectively) While most of the engineering literature is in the Feldberg Library, there are important holdings in the Kresge Physical Sciences Library and the Biomedical libraries. Feldberg, Kresge and the Biomedical libraries work cooperatively to collect in subject areas where there is some overlap. Examples of areas of overlap include: Applied Physics, Architecture, Biomedical Sciences, Computer Science, Environmental Studies, Materials Science, Photography and Polar Studies. (See these policy statements for additional information).
LANGUAGES
English is the primary language of the collection. Most of the non-English material is received as a gift.
GEOGRAPHIC AREAS
Primary emphasis is on literature from English-speaking countries. No nations are specifically excluded but emphasis is on the United States, Western Europe, Japan, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.).
TYPES OF MATERIAL COLLECTED
Feldberg collects monographs, serials, handbooks, encyclopedias, manuals, directories and other standard reference works as well as World Wide Web databases. It is Dartmouth College's United States Government Depository site for the Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office publication. Feldberg also has some selected product catalogs, technical standards from ASTM and NASA reports. Feldberg subscribes to bibliographic databases (e.g. Dialog Classroom Instruction Program (CIP) for end-user searching) to support research and curriculum at the Thayer School. Over the years emphasis on types of materials collected has shifted, as the technology has shifted providing for more electronic resources. Dissertations produced at the Thayer School are comprehensively collected as well as are Honor Theses and B.E. Project Reports.
FORMAT OF MATERIALS COLLECTED
No format is excluded.
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND MANUSCRIPTS
Feldberg currently houses the Thayer Special collection, including Sylvanus Thayer's personal collection, of (now old and/or rare) engineering and related books.
OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) PublicationsASME International conducts one of the largest technical publishing programs in the world. At any given time, it has more than 2,000 titles in print, including books, proceedings and technical papers. The subject areas explore the design, development and application of the wide-ranging technologies of interest to mechanical engineers. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
ACM is an international scientific and educational organization dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences, and applications of information technology. It publishes, distributes, and archives original research and firsthand perspectives from the world's leading thinkers in computing and information technologies. ACM offers over two dozen publications. Their web-site includes a list of their publications.
The Engineering Information Village (Ei)
Ei Village is a service that provides over 16,000 reliable and
relevant world wide web sites, sorted, described, organized and monitored. The database
includes technical databases, catalogs and weekly reports on engineering topics. The web-
site includes Ei CompendexWeb, the worldıs premiere engineering abstracts database.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc (IEEE)
IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society. It
publishes more than 75 journal and serial publications, most of which are owned by the
Library. It also publishes nearly 25% of the world's technical papers in electrical,
electronics and computer engineering. The IEEE, through its members, provides leadership
in areas ranging from aerospace, computers and communications to biomedical technology,
electric power and consumer electronics. For the latest research and innovations in the
many diverse fields of electrical and electronics engineering, industry and individuals look
to the IEEE. Their web-site includes a list of their publications.
The Society for Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
The Society's fundamental mission is to provide world-class
education and information services that enhance and promote the profession and field
of optical engineering. Among the many services the Society offers are the publication
and distribution of archival professional journals, full-manuscript conference
proceedings, newsletters, and optics-related texts and monographs.
U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab (CRREL)
CRREL's literature resources in cold regions science
and engineering supplement our own collection. CRREL publishes the Bibliography on
Cold Regions Science and Technology, a major international resource for scientists and
engineers investigating this topic. The web address for this Bibliography is
(http://www.urova.fi/home/arktinen/polarweb/polar/lbuscrre.htm).
OTHER COLLECTION POLICIES OF INTEREST
Creation Date
1983 (Jim Fries)
Revision Date
1993 (Karen Sluzenski)1999 (Janifer T. Holt)
LC Class
T-TX, Q (mostly QA, QC, QD)
Bibliographer
Janifer Holt
List of URLS
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Publications
[http://www.asme.org/]
Amos Tuck School of Business Administration
[http://www.dartmouth.edu/tuck/]
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
[http://www.acm.org/]
Biomedical Libraries
[http://www.dartmouth.edu/~biomed/]
CRREL Bibliography on Cold Regions Science and Technology
[http://www.urova.fi/home/arktinen/polarweb/polar/lbuscrre.htm]
Dartmouth Medical School
[http://www.dartmouth.edu/dms/]
Engineering Information Village (Ei)
[http://www.ei.org/village/]
Feldberg Library
[http://www.dartmouth.edu/~feldberg/]
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc (IEEE)
[http://www.ieee.org/]
Kresge Physical Sciences Library
[http://www.dartmouth.edu/~krescook/home.html]
Policy statements
[http://www.dartmouth.edu/~cmdc/cdp/index.html]
Sherman Art Library
[http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/thelibs/sherman.html]
Society for Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
[ http://www.spie.org/]
Thayer School
[http://thayer.dartmouth.edu/thayer/]
U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab (CRREL)
[http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/]
Top of PageCollection Development
Policy Table of ContentsCMDC Home Page
Last updated April 14, 1999 by: (z)