Finding Facility Management Materials in the C.O.D. Library

Books

Use the Library Catalog to find books and e-books on facility management topics. 

Example searches
The Library employs the Library of Congress subject headings in the Catalog.  The main subject headings for Facility Management are:  Facility Management, Buildings, HVAC, Building Management

Here are examples of refined searches that narrow down these large subject areas.

Buildings--Energy Conservation

Buildings--Environmental Engineering

Buildings--Mechanical Equipment

Heating and Ventilation

Building Laws (building "codes")

Searching Tip--Thinking about words

Choose your words carefully to get the best results. Note the distinction between the words "building" and "buildings."  Building is the act of construction and Buildings are the products of construction. 

Searching Tip--Keyword + Subject Headings

Use Keyword searching in the Library Catalog and just plug in your words. Find a book that is about your topic (or close to what you want), then use the subject headings of that book to find similar materials.

Reference Materials 

The Library holds all of the recent national codes, standards and building management guidelines from the International Code Council and the U.S. Green Building Council in the reference collection. Some older iterations of these materials are available for check-out in the general collection.  For fire codes, electrical codes and safety standards, consult this online resource: NFPA Codes Online. You'll need a current library card to access the NFPA from off-campus. 

The Library also holds the ASHRAE handbooks, the highly accessible user's guides to the multitude of ASHRAE Standards & Guidelines.  The handbooks covers Fundamentals, Refrigeration, Applications, and Systems & Equipment. The C.O.D. Library does not have the standards.  If you need the text of a particular standard for your research, please request assistance from the Librarian: cotede@cod.edu.  

Articles and Magazines

The Library offers access to several periodicals and magazines of interest to facility management professionals and students both online and in the Library.  

Journals and Magazines--Facility Management Topics

Buildings

Facilities

Sustainable Facilities

Environmental Engineering

Databases

The Library has a large collection of article databases for locating articles. For Facility Management, try both the general databases and the business databases.  Associates Program Source Plus and Business Source Complete are best for facility management topics but you may also find good materials in Academic Search Premier and in newspapers.

Facility Management Article Databases
 

Websites and Images

There are several tools available for searching the Internet. Using a variety of tools is always a good rule of thumb when looking for information on the web. Google is a great resource but also try some of the other tools on the Library's Search the Web pages. 

• ASHRAE Standards & Guidelines: https://www.ashrae.org/standards-research--technology/standards--guidelines
• International Facility Management Association: http://www.ifma.org/
• Today's Facility Manager: http://www.todaysfacilitymanager.com/
• Building Codes Reference Library--Illinois (Always check your local municipality!)  http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/building-codes/illinois/
• OSHA Building Operations Documents: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/indoorairquality/building_ops.html