Libraries
The principal library used by MS&E students is the McKinney Engineering Library, located in the Engineering Education and Research Center (EER) on the first floor (1.706).
It is a branch of the General Libraries and has more than 165,000 volumes in all fields of engineering. Patent information, standards, and manufacturers' catalogs are available at this branch. A network containing the Applied Science and Technology Index, Engineering Index and numerous other databases are available for free self-service computerized literature searches.
Other branch libraries that are useful to engineering students are the Kuehne Physics-Mathematics-Astronomy Library at the Physics, Mathematics & Astronomy Building (PMA), 4.200, and the Walter Geology Library in the Jackson Geological Sciences Building (JGB), 4.202.
The main library is the Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL), located on the corner of Speedway and 21st. Check out the main Library website for information on hours; each branch has different hours of operation. You may access the UT library online catalog (UTCAT), using a public terminal in the library or from a personal computer, for information on items in the General Libraries and library hours.
Many research tools, including numerous journal subscriptions and online databases, are available online through the main UT Austin Libraries page. The PCL also includes a Graduate Landing Spot inside the Scholars Commons, which includes rooms that can be reserved, places to study, and a small kitchen. The University Writing Center is housed in the PCL. For PhD students who have reached candidacy, the PCL has small, closed study rooms available for semester- or year-long check out. The PCL also hosts Data & Donuts each semester, which are small workshops on various technical or software topics, as well as other workshops of various topics.
Library orientation tours are usually offered at the beginning of each semester or feel free to ask a librarian if you have questions about finding materials in the library. Please note that all students are fined for overdue books, but most books can be checked out for an entire semester.
Every major in the university is given a Subject Librarian, which is a librarian who is an expert in helping students in that field, either with their research, finding appropriate resources and databases, or pointing them in the right direction for their research question. The Subject Librarian for MS&E is Larayne Dallas, and she works in the Engineering Library. You can find how to contact the Subject Librarian on the Materials Science and Engineering Subject Guide webpage.