Section 5: Research Library
Background
The Research Library contains more than 26,000 unique titles
of transportation related reading and reference materials. The Research
Library provides services that respond to the research needs of
the greater transportation community and leadership, by providing
access to both print and electronic transportation resources and
utilizing partnerships and collaboration to offer premier research
and knowledge management services.
Location
Research Library contains current and historic published works
that are the result of the research programs sponsored by RTI and
is physically located at the Center for Transportation Research
(CTR).
Services Available
Library staff maintains and operates the library as a reference and lending library, with all materials available for loan. The library’s lending policies and an online catalog can be found at
.
Library staff is available to:
- help learn how to effectively use the online catalog,
- answer inquiries for those without Internet access to the catalog,
- fulfill requests for items found through the online catalog,
- search for relevant material that may be housed at the library, but not yet listed in the online catalog, and
- search other transportation related reference sources.
Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)
TRID is the integrated database that holds records from the
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Joint
Transport Research Centre’s International Transport Research Documentation
(ITRD) Database and the Transportation Research Information Services
(TRIS).
Library staff periodically receives communications on new
reports and deliverables that need to be retained and archived in
the library. The library is required to follow the State’s record
management program as mandated by the Texas Government Code, §441
(see Chapter 1 Section 4 Records and Archiving). Once the document
is catalogued and available to the public, library staff then follow
the directives given in the Distributions Instructions Document.
Research in Progress Database (RIP)
The Library staff, by proxy, enters the project portfolio
record from RTI in the RIP database. The staff ensures that any
approved publications are uploaded and appropriate permissions are
granted. The project number and any pertinent information are captured
in the submission. The RIP record creates a direct link to the project
that produced the publication. Once the project is completed, the
publications are then archived.