Faculty and staff are always ready to help you.

Virtual Reference

For Science and Engineering e-mail reference questions, use our Ask-A-Librarian online form. submit a request.

If your browser does not support forms you may send us an e-mail.

Reference by Phone 

205-348-2101

Reference Desk

Fall and spring semesters.

Regular:  Monday - Wednesday 10 am - 4 pm;

Evenings: Monday - Tuesday  5 pm - 8 pm

If you have suggestions or concerns, contact our department head.

Scout, the Libraries' online discovery system is very helpful for identifying and locating books, journal articles, technical reports, and more in the libraries' collections. 

Our old catalog interface offers an alternative approach to finding some of our materials.  

The Libraries' databases provide a more in-depth approach for finding journal articles, technical reports, and various other documents,  Databases are often linked to full-text.

Immediate downloads are possible.

University of Alabama faculty, staff, and students may use UA Libraries Interlibrary Loan to borrow materials not owned or licensed by the University of Alabama Libraries. Requests are made electronically using Interlibrary Loan Request Form

Requested journal articles are sent electronically to your InterlLibrary Loan Account. Books are picked up at the Service Desk at Gorgas Library, Floor 2.

Universal borrowing is a service offered by several Alabama academic libraries. Users from any participating library can borrow materials from the other libraries, either on-site with a photo ID or by requesting the items through their local library catalog.

Reserve collections in the libraries consist of materials faculty members have designated for specific class assignments. These materials may be books, personal materials, or articles. Print reserve materials are kept behind the Circulation Desk. Students may check them out for a limited time.

Many items on reserve are e-reserves.  The e-reserve system makes selected reserve material available electronically to UA students on any computer with Internet access.

Faculty should contact Rodgers Library Circulation (Mary Ann Robbins, 348-2126, maschwar@ua.edu) for help with placing items on reserve. Faculty complete a special form to get the process started.

Students use the online course reserve page to check for items on reserve.

Laptops: University of Alabama faculty, staff, and students may check out laptop computers from the Circulation Desk of Rodgers Library for use within the library. You can print from the library's laptops using UnipriNT.

Using the campus wireless network, students can access the Internet.

Rodgers Library offers 3D printing for students, faculty and staff.  The Library maintains a Bits from Bytes (BFB) 3D Touch Printer.  Supporting 3D design and conversion software is installed on all workstations within the Scholars’ Station (adjacent to the 3D Studio).For details click here.

Rodgers Library has calculators for use by students:  five (5) TI-83 Plus and two (2) HP 9s. 

• The TI-83 Plus is a graphing calculator for math and science. 
• The HP 9s is a scientific calculator for math and science.

Calculators can be checked out for three days. 

Rodgers Library provides tours, orientation sessons, and instructional classes to acquaint users with the library's facilities, collections, and services. Students learn about special resources and research strategies from in-depth instruction, provided by librarians.  These services are available for University students, faculty, staff, and other users on an individual basis or in groups.  For details please contact contact Mangala Krishnamurthy at 348-2109 or mkrishna@ua.edu.   Faculty can also use a special online form to request library instuction for a class. 

Libguides for the sciences, engineering and nursing are available online.

Aerospace Engineering

Astronomy

Biology

Chemical Engineering

Chemistry

Civil Engineering

Computer Science

Electrical Engineering

Geography

Geology

Mathematics

Mechanical Engineering

Metallurgical Engineering

Nursing

Physics

Check out the library's table tents and learn more about servcies for faculty and students.

Printed subject guides for the academic areas served by Rodgers Library are availabe in a display rack on the wall near the Reference Desk.

Users can check-out books and periodicals at the Circulation Desk with help from our friendly staff.    A self-check-out machine is also available near the Reference Desk.

Special Web pages explain how to renew materials and provide other information for borrowing materials.

• Yellowhammer Room (103)
• Mount Fuji Room (122)
• Nightingale Room (123)
  
• The Rocket Room (125)
• The Great Bear Room (127)
• Pi Room (211)
• The Cahaba Room (217)

All group study rooms are available on first-come first-served basis to currently enrolled students.  For more information see Group Study Rooms

Are you looking for a quiet place to study in Rodgers Library.  The entire north-half of the 2nd floor of Rodgers Library is designated as a "quiet zone."

An assortment of snacks and beverages can be purchased from vending machines located in the Treat Corner on the 1st floor of the library.  

Laser printing is available from public computers in Rodgers Library through the Pharos UnipriNT network system.  When printing is done, the Pharos UnipriNT system debits the user's Action Card (with Bama Cash) or Community User Card for the cost of a print job.  The charge for 8.5 x 11 prints is $.05 for black and white and $.15 for color.

The Geochron shows time and displays the extent of daylight and darkness throughout the world. The Geochron also displays the winter solistice, summer solstice and the fall and spring equinoxes. The Geochron hangs on the wall near the elevator just inside the entry to Rodgers Library.

Scholars’ Station, located on the first floor of Rodgers Library, contains fourteen computers with a variety of software applications. It also contains a projection system, a printer, and a scanner. For more information, including a list of available software, consult our software list on the Web.

Computers

Rodgers Library has approximately 50 desktop computers located on the south-end of the first floor. The desktops are half PCs and half Macs. The second floor has 10 PCs located in personal workstations. In addition, there are approximately 15 laptops (PCs and Macs) available for checkout at the Circulation/Reference Desk. If you would rather use your own laptop, wireless connectivity is available throughout the building. Lastly, numerous power outlets are strategically located inside the library for connecting library-owned or personal electronic devices. 

SciTech Software

In support of classroom activities and scientific research, Rodgers Library offers a variety of specialized software.  In addition to the normal suite of library and productivity software, desktop computers are loaded with Maple, ArcGIS, AutoCAD, ChemBioDraw, MATLAB, Minitab, CHEMCAD, Microsoft Visual Studio, etc.

Check this link for a full list of software in Rodgers Library.  This list also shows software available in other UA Libraries.  Information on software licensed by UA is available from the Office of Information Technology.

3D Printer

The University of Alabama Libraries maintains a Bits from Bytes (BFB) 3D Touch Printer in the Rodgers Library for Science and Engineering 3D Printing
Studio.

Printers and copiers are available in Rodgers Library.   The machines operate with the use of an Action Card with Bama Cash or a Community User Card. Value can be added to cards using the “Value Adder” machine located in Scholars' Station. The cost of copies is $.05 for black and white.

The Copiers also have a free scan/email feature.

Faculty can leave their departmental Copicard at the Circulation Desk in the Library and ask their department's research/teaching assistant to make copies for faculty.

The University Libraries maintains an Annex for older and low use materials.  For Rodgers Library, pre-1980 backfiles of journal titles are in the Annex.  Additional hardcopy journal volumes are at the Annex if electronic editions (of the same content) are available.  A large number of books from Rodgers Library are also at the Annex.

Items stored at the Annex can be requested using the Holds/Recalls/Requests link in the libraries' catalog.  Books requested from the Annex are delivered to Rodgers Library twice daily, Monday through Friday.  Journal articles will be scanned at the Annex and sent to you as an e-mail attachment.  The University Libraries Annex is located a few miles away off Campus.  

If you have suggestions or concerns, contact our department head.

If you are having a problem logging in to the UA Libraries' electronic resources from off campus, please fill out this form.  Action will follow immediately.

Take a quick virtual tour of Rodgers Library.  Our photo gallery, published on Picasa, highlights facilities, services, and collections.

Rodgers Library has seating for over 300 students. This includes small carrels for individuals, special one-person desks, and tables which seat up to six students. 

To help student collaborate on projects, the library offers numerous dry erase boards.  Our SMART interactive whiteboard, located in the Nightingale Room, features an integrated projector.  This whiteboard is connected to the campus network and the library's print station. A second electronic whiteboard is located outside the Nightingale room.

Use Scout to find books, journal articles, technical reports and other materials in the UA Libraries' collections.  Search Scout.

Learn about the new version of Scout.

FAQ

Rodgers Library purchases many but not all of Springer's e-books.  If a green icon displays, then full text is available for download.

A place to start when looking for general information.

Google Books indexes millions of books.  In-depth indexing of full text makes Google Book Search a very powerful tool.

Rodgers Library has thousands of e-books too. 

Rodgers Library has rich and extensive collections.  The collections support learning, teaching, and research in the sciences, engineering, and nursing.  Most new books arrive as e-books.  All books (e-books and hardcover books) are listed in Scout.

In Scout a search can be narrowed to e-books only.

Search Tip: Enter keyword(s) in the search box. Then execute the search. In another step, refine your search.  In the column on the left side of the Web page, under SOURCE TYPES, check the box labeled ebooks. Next click on the button labeled UPDATE.

Scout is also used to find a combined list of both hardcover and e-books, from all publishers, offered by the UA Libraries.

Search tip:  Enter keyword(s) in the search box.  In another step, refine your search.  In the column on the left side of the Web page, under SOURCE TYPES, check the box labeled Books.   Then click on the button labeled UPDATE.

In addition, the library subcribes to thousands of scientific, technical, and nursing journals.  Scout, the libraries' discovery system, provides great access to books, technical reports, and journal articles from a wide array of publishers.

Scout is an ideal place to start your research. 

Our more specialized databases are important sources when more comprehensive results are needed.  To view our full list of databases use our Web site.

Rodgers Library acquires materials in many ways.   License agreements with scholarly publishers and various vendors provide access to databases and specific content including journals, technical reports, conference proceedings, and books.   Many journals and books are purchased outright and added permanently to the collection.  The UA Libraries are an offical GPO regional depository library and gets government documents in this way.  In addition, many US. Governmental agencies such as the US. Department of Energy and the U.S. Geological Survey post their publications on their Web sites.  Faculty and students are welcome to recommend new materials for the library's collections. 

Scout, the Libraries' online discovery tool, is very helpful for identifying and locating books, journal articles, and technical reports in the libraries' collections.   Much of this is electronic content, ready for instant reading online or download.

The Libraries' subject-specific databases are also useful for finding journal articles, technical reports, and various other documents.  Databases are often linked to full-text, so immediate downloads are possible. 

Test drive publishers platforms!  A lot of content offered by Rodgers Library for Science and Engineering can be accessed directly from Elsevier, Springer, and Wiley platforms.

• Elsevier
• Springer
• Wiley

Remember, our databases bring you the content from all of our licensed resources.

If you have suggestions or concerns, contact our department head.

U.S. Patents and Trademarks

Intellectual property databases at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Guide to Patent Searching (courtesy U. Texas Engineering Library)

Google Patent Search

Patent search from Patsnap

SAI Global Standards Database

Covers 250 Standards issuing authorities, including ASTM, NFPA, API, IEC, ASME, DIN, ISO, BSI, etc . Includes 400,000 worldwide standards. Full text standards, not already available in the Science and Engineering Library or its electronic databases, can be ordered for UA Science, Engineering, and Nursing faculty, staff, and students.  Ask a librarian.