Last revised: July 2009

Technical Reports

The following guide assists users to identify and locate technical reports. For more information and assistance, email Jim Miller at jmiller2(@umd.edu) or Somesh Sood at ssood(@umd.edu). Or call 301-405-9157 for additional help.

Collections

The Technical Reports Center contains over two million scientific and technical reports, and the collection is expanding by approximately 80,000 titles each year. U.S. Government-sponsored research comprises the largest part of the collection. The Center subscribes to all documents issued by the National Technical Information Service (search them in the NTIS database) in selected subject areas, including:

The Technical Reports Center is a U.S. Government Document Depository Library for scientific and technical reports from several agencies including:

The Technical Reports Center houses one of the most complete collections of NASA documents in the country, as well as reports from NASA's predecessor, NACA, dating back to 1915.

The Technical Reports Center has a complete set of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Public Documents from January 1, 1981 through October 31, 1999. For documents issued after October 31, 1999, visit the NRC Public Electronic Reading Room. These documents have been moved to offsite storage and usage is restricted.

The Technical Reports Center contains a growing collection of foreign report series from international government agencies such as Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD).

While the primary focus of the collection is on science and technology, the center also contains reports in the social sciences. Since 1965, for example, the Technical Reports Center has maintained a collection of all documents published by the Rand Corporation. Rand is a multi-disciplinary think-tank specializing in political science, international affairs, defense, education, public health, welfare, urban development, and economics.

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Identifying Report Numbers

All documents in the Technical Report Center, both microfiche and paper copy, are filed by technical report numbers. Report numbers may be identified by using one of the following sources:

• Virtual Technical Reports Center
  Lists many searchable databases which will help identify technical reports numbers. Some of the most useful include databases from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and Defense Technical Information Center. Many of the reports listed are available full-text on the Web.
• NTIS
  The Technical Reports Center contains many NTIS reports in microfiche.
• Library catalog
  Contains cataloging records for some of the most recent technical reports which are received through the U.S. Government Document Depository Library program. The records are not complete, and serve, at best, to indicate that our Technical Reports Center may have a particular report. Pre-1996 NASA reports must be searched in NTIS.

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Additional Resources

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EPSL Information

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