Frequently Asked Questions
Ask a Librarian
Do you have a question about the unique resources at the Volpe Center? Looking for a particular report and having trouble? Ask a Librarian provides Volpe Center Technical Library and Information Center users the chance to ask their question through multiple venues —
By phone: 617.494.2306 weekdays, 8:30am - 4:30pm
By email: volpelibrary@dot.gov
Questions are answered by reference librarians, who generally respond to inquiries within one working day.
How do I find a Volpe-authored technical report, journal article or publication?
To find a Volpe-authored technical report, journal article or publication:
The search on the Library homepage allows for a search of the Technical Reports & Presentations Database, or you can search it here. The comprehensive Technical Reports & Presentations Database contains citation data for all of our technical reports from 1970 to present, in addition to presentations and articles.
- If the report you are looking for is either not present in your search results or the citation does not contain the full-text document, please feel free to Ask a Librarian for assistance.
You can also try searching the Technical Library and Information Center's affiliate, the National Transportation Library, for more information.
Additional catalogs for transportation research reports can be found under our Resources on the Web page.
How do I find a Volpe presentation?
If you find a citation of a presentation in the of the Volpe Technical Reports & Presentations listing under Resources, but cannot find the presentation, please get in touch with either the author: askvolpe@dot.gov, or the Librarian: volpelibrary@dot.gov, and they can assist you in finding the presentation you are interested in.
My search of the Technical Reports & Presentations isn't yielding the results I want. How do I better my query?
Please visit the Search Help page to better understand the mechanics of our searchable database.