One of the great weaknesses of modern engineering design practice is lack of information-retrieval facilities for obtaining scientific and technological information relevant to the design. When confronted with a new problem, the engineer often scarcely knows where to turn for such information. Even in our modern society this information is extremely difficult to obtain. There is some hope that the advent of giant computerized information-retrieval centres will soon alleviate this problem. This is particularly true of mechanizing the search for journal papers and magazine articles on very specific topics for which the designer is able to make very specific requests. However, very often the designer requires broad generalized information that is difficult to specify and is usually found in books. Reference lists of books and general papers under broad subject-categories are needed. This book is an attempt to meet this need in the general field of Mechanical Engineering. It is also intended to show the user the techniques of using information sources. The book should be useful to designers, researchers, and teachers in all areas of Mechanical Engineering.

JAMES N. SIDDALL is Professor of Engineering at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He received the B.Sc. degree (1944) from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, and the S.M. degree (1948) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His extensive experience encompasses over 35 years as an engineer engaged in research, project development, and design for several companies, as well as serving as a consultant to industry.

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