Library Services for Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering

Bierce Library is our main library and houses many of the older journals which support the sciences, engineering, and medicine. It also has United States chemical patents from 1952 to 1994; the patents are on microfilm and located on the First Floor.

Most of the materials which support the polymer curriculum and research are located in the Science-Technology Library, Room 104 of the Auburn Science and Engineering Center. The Law Library is located in the McDowell Law Center, and has its own library hours and policies. Some items are in storage and can be requested by completing a form in either the Science-Technology Library or Bierce Library.

Online Catalog

The online catalog, ZipLINK, may be used to find out which books are owned by The University of Akron, and the holdings of our journals. ZipLINK is part of a statewide online catalog called OhioLINK.

Circulation (Borrowing) of Books

Your University of Akron identification card (Zipcard) is your library card or you may use your driver's license. Undergraduate students may borrow books for 28 days, and renew them for another 28 days if no one else has requested them. Graduate students and faculty may borrow books for 150 days, and renew them for another 150 days if no one else has requested them. Books owned by The University of Akron may be renewed up to three times. However, any book may be recalled after it has been checked out for 3 weeks; the due date on a recalled item will be earlier than the original due date you were given. Fines for overdue University of Akron books are 10 cents per day, but $1 per day for recalled items. Journals are not allowed to circulate, and, therefore, must be used in the library.

You may place a hold on materials which are checked out or that you cannot find on the shelf by clicking on "Request." The computer will ask you for your name, social security number, PIN, and pickup location. The PIN is a password that you choose and should try to remember. You may borrow books from other libraries in Ohio by searching OhioLINK and clicking on "Request this item." OhioLINK books may be borrowed for 3 weeks and renewed once for another 3 weeks if no one else has requested them. Overdue OhioLINK books are charged a fine of 50 cents per day, but $2 per day for recalled items.

Most reserve materials must be used in the library; ZipLINK will indicate whether or not the item is on reserve.

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Periodicals are shelved alphabetically by title. In the Science-Technology Library, the periodicals are shelved on the first floor. Bound journals are shelved separately from the current issues. In Bierce Library, the current issues are shelved in the Reserve Room on the first floor. The older journals are shelved on the ground floor. You may check our printout or ZipLINK to see whether we have a journal that you need, and where it is located. Most conference proceedings, transactions and symposia and some journals have call numbers and are shelved with the books. Polymer Preprints is such an example. Search ZipLINK to obtain the call numbers for these items. Ask for assistance at the Reference/Information Desk for items which you have difficulty finding. Supporting material for the American Chemical Society journals may be found on the World Wide Web at http://pubs.acs.org/.

The library has subscriptions to several American Chemical Society and Royal Society of Chemistry Web journals. To browse the list of electronic journals to which the university subscribes, do a title search on ZipLINK for "electronic journal." In addition, OhioLINK provides Web access to journals published by Academic Press, Elsevier, Pergamon, Springer, Kluwer, Wiley, and the American Physical Society on its Electronic Journal Center. See also Electronic Polymer Journals.

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The Science-Technology Library has four photocopiers for paper originals and two microfilm/microfiche reader-printers, all on the first floor. Bierce Library has several photocopiers located on the first floor and ground floor. Microfilm/microfiche reader-printers are located in the Microforms area on the ground floor. The cost for photocopying is 7 cents per page if a copy card is used and 10 cents per page if coins are used. The microfilm/microfiche reader-printers require a copy card, but cost 25 cents per page for copies. Copy cards may be purchased/used in either library. Keep your card so that you can add value to it when it is depleted. The copy card may also be used for printing from the computers at a cost of 10 cents per page.

The Science-Technology Library is staffing the Reference/Information Desk, Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m., and Friday, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Ask the person working at this desk for help in locating information, using the computers, or for other questions you may have about the library. If this person is not available, ask any of us for help wherever you happen to find us.

Ann Bolek is the subject bibliographer (librarian) for polymer science and polymer engineering. You will be referred to her when the other staff feel they do not have enough expertise to answer your question. Sherri Edwards is the head of the Science-Technology Library. Other full-time staff include Marie Toth, Donna Lanik, Teri Mackey, Nancy Hayes, and Aimée deChambeau. We take turns working at the Reference/Information Desk and will be happy to assist you. Joan Long is the librarian for the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society and has an office in the Science-Technology Library also. She should be consulted when you need Rubber Division papers.

Bierce Library has an Information Desk on the first floor for directional questions and a separate Reference Desk on the first floor for more indepth questions. These desks are staffed until 9:30 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

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Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

When the university does not own the books, journal articles, or patents that you need, you may request these items by completing the appropriate form. Please ask for help in completing these forms if you need it. The library pays for the costs of obtaining these materials for you. It usually takes one-to-four weeks to obtain the materials. You may use the books for two weeks, and in most cases, renew them for another two weeks. We shall mail photocopies of the journal articles to you, since libraries do not like to lend an entire journal volume or issue. Patent requests should include the patent country, the patent number, and the year the patent was issued. English translations of journals and patents are usually difficult to locate, but can sometimes be found with persistence. Interlibrary loan request forms are available at the Reference Desk in Bierce Library, across from the Checkout Desk in the Science-Technology Library, and on the Web. The yellow form is used to request photocopies of journal articles, the white form is used to request books, and the green form is used to request patents. You should try to request your book on OhioLINK first before trying interlibrary loan since OhioLINK is usually much faster.

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Abstracts and Indexes

The Science-Technology Library has the following indexes and abstracts which will enable you to find references on a polymer topic:

RAPRA Abstracts / Rubber and Plastics Research Association (United Kingdom)

Contains bibliographic information, abstracts, index terms, category and classification codes to more than 400,000 records from 1972 to the present, covering commercial, technical and academic aspects of the rubber and plastics industries. Includes periodicals, conference papers, specifications, books, trade literature, technical and government reports. It began indexing United States and European patents and World PCT patent applications in 1994. Updated every two months.

Published weekly, it is the most comprehensive chemical index. Called the "key to the world's chemical literature." It indexes periodicals, conference papers, doctoral dissertations, government reports, books, and patents. It is available in print format in the Science-Technology Library from 1907 to the present. It can be searched on the computer for the years 1967 to the present. The computer version, called SciFinder Scholar, is available 24 hours per day, except from 6 p.m., Saturday to 8 a.m., Sunday. SciFinder Scholar may be searched by chemical structure, chemical name, molecular formula, registry number, research topic, or author's name. Use CASSI (shelved at the Information Desk) to find out the full names of the journals which Chemical Abstracts abbreviates.

An OhioLINK database on the World Wide Web at http://cite.ohiolink.edu/isi/CIW.cgi. Indexes approximately 5300 journals in the scientific, technical, and medical areas for the years 1980 to the present. Title, author, journal name, keywords, author's affiliation, abstracts, and cited references are searchable and displayable. The years 1961 to 1989 are available in print and shelved with the indexes.

Polymer Contents. Cincinnati, Ohio: Polymer Research Associates, 1985- . / Science Periodical

Provides the table of contents for more than 100 polymer journals. Published monthly and shelved alphabetically with the periodicals. It also has a keyword index. Unlike the above three indexes, Polymer Contents does not contain abstracts. Used primarily as a current awareness tool, the library retains only the latest two years. OhioLINK has the years 1995 to the present available at the above link.

Maro Polymer Notes. Tucson, Arizona: Maro Communications, 1991- . / Science Index Z5524 .P7 D741

Formerly called Drexel Polymer Notes, it indexes journal articles and U.S. patents, and is searchable by broad polymer subject headings as well as by author. It covers polymer research and development, design and applications. The library has the years 1990 to the present of Maro/Drexel Polymer Notes. Abstracts are one-sentence summaries. Published monthly. Used primarily to keep up-to-date in the polymer field.

Engineered Materials Abstracts: EMA. Metals Park, OH: Materials Information, 1986- . / Science Index TA410 .E7

Includes abstracts for polymers, composites, and ceramics. Indexes journals, conference proceedings, technical reports, Ph.D. dissertations, and U.S. and European patents. The library has January 1987 to June 1995 in print format and access to all years on the World Wide Web.