The Civil and Environmental Engineering Department prepares students to plan, design and supervise construction of buildings, roadways, bridges, water supply systems, communications networks, and transportation systems. Both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree programs are offered with specializations in Construction Engineering and Management, Transportation Engineering, Geotechnical, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, Structural Engineering and Applied Mechanics. The undergraduate program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, (http://www.abet.org).
The curriculum is based on a strong core of engineering and science courses common to all engineering curricula. The required science courses include physics, chemistry, and mathematics.
The University Library serves as the main information and research source for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The SJSU Library collection is augmented by consortia agreements with CSU+ and Interlibrary Services. A large number of university, college, and public libraries are located nearby in the Bay Area, providing a rich source of library resources available to SJSU students and faculty. Many local industrial and government institutions have ongoing collaborative research with our faculty and allow their resources to be accessed by our students and faculty.
There is a coordinated effort in collection development and management for the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and the other SJSU engineering departments, as well as, with many of the science disciplines, most notably Geology, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Mathematics and Computer Science. It is also necessary to maintain a coordinated effort with some areas of the social sciences and arts, namely Urban Planning, Geography, Environmental Studies, Architecture, and Art and Design.
Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering are two fields where there is a wide range of literature. There are many specialties within these fields, such as bridge engineering, highway engineering, water resources engineering, and each of these fields produces a large array of literature for professionals to rely upon. With the departments’ emphasis on design and analysis and laboratory experience, the curriculum must be supported with a working collection of journals, technical reports, standards, conference papers, and handbooks, produced by professional societies, government agencies, and commercial academic/professional publishers.
The Library's print collections and electronic resources in civil and environmental engineering are both strong in general. The basic and essential engineering materials are maintained to support the curriculum, teaching, and research. Continuous subscriptions to online engineering databases: Engineering Village, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Library or CE Database, Greenfile, and GeoRef, and other science and technology databases: Academic Search Complete, ScienceDirect and Web of Science provides resources for the study and research capability of students and faculty.
A. Academic Senate Policy
According to Academic Senate Library Policy S15-10, periodic evaluations of the print collection are required to maintain the high quality of the academic collection, with the primary goals of improving the effectiveness of browsing and providing space for new acquisitions. The objectives include relocating materials, and weeding duplicate materials and materials that support discontinued programs or are no longer relevant for current programs.
B. Evaluation Plans
Objectives for evaluation of the civil and environmental engineering collections include evaluating the online databases and the print collection.
It is important to keep abreast of the rapid advances in civil and environmental engineering, and the changes in curriculum in order to keep the Library's collection up-to-date. The collection of standards should also be enhanced. Additional electronic resources will be evaluated and acquired when necessary. An on-going effort will be made on evaluating and selecting numerous Internet and open access resources.