Encyclopedias and Other Special Databases - CE 301 - Civil Engineering Systems - LibGuides at University of Texas at Austin

Special Databases

Among the library databases are products which don't index articles but instead provide topic overviews, explanations of concepts, and definitions of terms. The encyclopedias have been a good option for getting appropriately focused information on some of the very popular topics such as the Eiffel Tower. Most likely to be of interest for this class:

Gale eBooks
This service provides the text of numerous special-topic encyclopedias. You can search them all together and then, if necessary, use facets to focus the results.

Updated regularly. A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources. Fully searchable across all files. A list of sources included in our subscription is available.
For more information on ebooks see the Ebook Guide
Great Buildings Online
The opportunity to explore great buildings from around the world, including with the aid of 3D models.

Updated regularly. Documents architecture from around the world and across history, including famous designers and structures of all kinds. Coverage of over one thousand buildings and hundreds of leading architects. Also has 3D models, photographic images and architectural drawings, commentaries, bibliographies, web links, and more.
Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
Records from the Library of Congress projects that record treasures of built America.

Updated regularly. The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) collections are among the largest and most heavily used in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. Since 2000, documentation from the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) has been added to the holdings. The collections document achievements in architecture, engineering, and landscape design in the United States and its territories through a comprehensive range of building types, engineering technologies, and landscapes. This online presentation of the HABS/HAER/HALS collections includes digitized images of measured drawings, black-and-white photographs, color transparencies, photo captions, written history pages, and supplemental materials.
SAH Archipedia
Histories, photographs, and more about the "built world."

SAH Archipedia is an authoritative encyclopedia of the built world published by the Society of Architectural Historians and the University of Virginia Press, and contains histories, photographs, and maps for more than 8,500 structures and places. Currently, the content of SAH Archipedia is drawn from the award-winning book series, Buildings of the United States, and includes histories and thematic essays from twelve of the published BUS volumes: Massachusetts (Metropolitan Boston), Rhode Island, Pennsylvania (Eastern and Western), the District of Columbia, Virginia (Tidewater and Piedmont), West Virginia, Michigan, Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, and Alaska.
Other published BUS books will be added in the coming years (including Delaware; Louisiana; Hawai; Texas: Central, South, East, North, West and Gulf Coast; Vermont; Virginia: The Valley and Southwest; North Dakota; Wisconsin; Missouri; Mississippi; New Hampshire; and Arkansas among them).
Texas Architecture: A Visual History
Focusing on Texas and what has been built in the state.

Updated regularly. Provides an overview of the development of the built environment in Texas, as well as access to 3,971 digitized images documenting Texas architecture drawn from collections housed at the University of Texas at Austin. The collections can be searched by building name, architect or firm, city, or style.