Did you know that the VDOT Library provides VDOT employees with access to ScienceDirect, one of the world’s leading pay-per-view Web sites for technical and scientific journal articles from publisher Elsevier, with nearly 14 million technical articles from 2,500 technical journals in: Engineering & Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Health Sciences and Social Sciences? We do!

ScienceDirect articles are indexed by all major search engines. Abstracts are freely available, but VDOT employees can also order individual documents through the library's subscription to gain "full-text" access to this extensive collection of articles on a "pay-per-view" basis.

Elsevier publishes some "Open Access" journal articles that are available through ScienceDirect as well. These are scholarly journal articles that are available without financial, legal or technical barriers (check out this previous post to learn more about "Open Access"). In ScienceDirect, these articles are indicated by a pdf icon and can be downloaded immediately with one click.

If an article you are interested in does NOT have one of these pdf icons, don't worry! You just need to place an order and the library will deliver it directly to you.

Here's how:

1. Do a search in VDOT’s ScienceDirect account.  You’ll know you are in VDOT’s account when you see the VDOT logo. Don’t see the logo? Start from VDOT’s Account!

2. Remember, in your search results you may notice some items have a pdf icon. These are “Open Access” articles and you can download these for free. All other items in ScienceDirect can be requested for free delivery via the online order form (VDOT Employees Only please!).

3. Choose the “Get Access” option, which will bring up the full record describing the item and ordering options. 

The Transportation Research Board produces more than 200 Webinars a year on all topics in transportation research.
 

Webinars have become one of the most popular and effective ways for state DOT employees to keep up with fast-paced changes in transportation research and development. This week we explore some of the top sources of Webinars for transportation professionals. 

Why Webinars? Webinars can simulate traditional classrooms without their time and space constrains. Plus, they are cost effective (typically free to VDOT employees), and many are now recorded for self-guided playback at any time.
 

With Webinars growing in popularity, many research organizations and federal agencies now have deep backlogs with hundreds of archived Webinars from 2014-present ready for self-guided playback, making them a great way to keep up with trends and technical topics during a lunch break or on your daily commute. Other benefits of Webinars:
 

• Convenience: There is no travel required and the content can be enjoyed via mobile devices from an office or any other location. 
• Immersion: No other form of communication offers attendees the experience of interacting with the content so thoroughly for 30–60 minutes. 
• Delivery: Distance learning through the use of Webinars is made effective by ensuring mixed modes of learning that is synchronous (real time) and asynchronous (recorded for later playback).
• Cost: Most in transportation research are free to VDOT employees.
• Facilitated: Moderators pass questions and comments on to presenters, and conduct interactive polls and surveys during some Webinars.

So many Webinars to choose from, how do you select?  Some Webinars are more about "content marketing" than expertly vetted transportation research or information sharing that targets state DOT employees.

So we compiled these lists of resources help you keep on track: 

1. Transportation Research Board (TRB)
TRB Web pages list upcoming Webinars, plus hundreds of recorded Webinars on one handy and searchable site.

Upcoming Webinars | Past Webinars by Date | Past Webinars by Subject

2. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
FHWA Web pages tend to list recorded Webinars in multiple locations by topic. 
Here are a few...

3. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
AASHTO Web pages tend to list recorded Webinars in multiple locations by topic. 
Here are a few...

4. US Department of Transportation (USDOT)
US DOT Web pages tend to list recorded Webinars in multiple locations by topic. 
Here are a few...

Need help or advice? Contact anyone at the VDOT Research Library.

Ken Winter
VDOT Library
434-962-8979  

Check out this great new VDOT Library resource from EBSCO: Business Source Corporate Plus!

Over the past few weeks, the library has given VDOT patrons a sneak peek at a new database from EBSCO: Business Source Corporate Plus. We are pleased to announce that this new resource has now become a regular part of the library’s subscription database offerings to VDOT employees. Here is a look at some of the details:
 

Whether you are looking for the most recent articles from renowned trade publications, monitoring market trends or supporting business research, this resource serves cross-departmental business information needs for companies in any industry.

Business Source Corporate Plus (BSC+) provides full-text coverage of business magazines, journals and trade publications, many of which are unique and unavailable through other online resources. In addition, same-day currency is available for top newspapers.

Content Includes:

•  More than 5,600 full-text business magazines, journals and trade publications
• More than 1,100 full-text newspapers with same-day currency (including many local VA papers like: Richmond Times Dispatch, Daily Progress, Free-Lance Star, The Bland County Messenger, Bristol Herald Courier, Carroll News, Culpeper Star Exponent, Danville Register & Bee, The Floyd Press, Madison County Eagle, Manassas Journal Messenger, The News & Advance, News Virginian, Progress-Index, Richland News-Press, The Roanoke Times, Stafford County Sun, Washington County News, Wytheville Enterprise and more!)
•  More than 1 million TV and radio news transcripts

With the "Company Information Content in Context" feature, users gain a broader and deeper approach to investigating a company through contextual access to related information including:

• Case studies 
• Industry profiles
• Books/Monographs 
• Articles from business journals, magazines and trade publications
• Market research reports 
• Product reviews 
• News articles 

In the coming weeks keep an eye out as this new resource is fully integrated into the library website and other tools, for even better ease of access; However, if you work at VDOT you can begin exploring this resource right away by simply clicking here now to get started.
 

As always, if you have any questions at all about Business Source Corporate Plus (or any of our subscription database), don’t hesitate to ask. We’re here to help!

Gil Kenner
(434) 293-1926
VDOT Research Library

This upcoming TRB webinar will focus on using the Research in Progress (RiP) Database.

TRB will conduct a Webinar on Thursday, August 24, 2017 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM ET that provides users of TRB's Research in Progress (RiP) Database with the latest information about RiP's search and data entry interfaces.

The RiP Database is a leading tool for transportation professionals to stay updated on ongoing or "recently-completed" transportation research projects. In order to comply with Public Access Plan requirements, projects that receive federal funding must be entered into the RiP database. This webinar is an update to a Webinar held on August 16, 2016.  Sign into MyTRB.org to register and to view registration information. 

Webinar Presenters:
Janet Daly, Transportation Research Board

Moderated by: Steve Andreadis, Transportation Research Board

Webinar Outline:
1. Distinction between the Transport Research International Documentation (TRID) and RiP databases
2. Overview of TRID's purpose and contents
3. Overview of RiP's purpose and contents
4. General guidance on using the RiP Database
     ◦ Search the RiP Database by various fields
     ◦ Browse project records by subject category
     ◦ Use a look-up for searching by index terms, individuals, organizations or location
     ◦ Export records
5. Guidance for individuals from state departments of transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation, and University Transportation Centers
     ◦ Enter a new project record into the RiP Database using the data entry interface or bulk import tool
     ◦ Locate records from their organization
     ◦ Update or delete an existing record for their organization in the RiP Database
6. Question and answer session

The first 30 minutes of the webinar will be for presentations and the final 30 minutes will be reserved for audience questions.

Learning Objectives: 

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Locate records in the RiP Database
• Submit a new project record using the data entry interface
• Modify or delete an existing project record from their organization

Registration questions? Contact Reggie Gillum at RGillum@nas.edu.