Finding American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) papers can be tricky.   Here are some tips on searching for ASME papers, based on the date of publication.  For help accessing these papers see the box below.

• 1880 - 1988: Use finding aids (see below) to determine the paper number.  You may also search Compendex to try to determine the paper number or other useful information. See below for how to access these items in the MIT Libraries.
• 1989 - 2001: Search Compendex to try to determine the paper number or other useful information. See below for how to access these items in the MIT Libraries.
• 2002 - present: ASME Technical Papers are available online in the ASME Digital Collection.

ASME standards are not available online.  There are some ASME Standards in print in Barker Library (Click "Find it in the library/Request item" to see a list of standards). See the Standards Guide for more information on locating standards at MIT or to request a standard.

ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Codes: View the 2021 code in the Library Catalog. To find older editions, search our collections for availability. Search by "Call Number Begins With..." for  TJ290 .A512 to see the sections and volumes.

There are several places to check to locate ASME papers in the MIT Libraries.   Where to look will be determined by the date of publication.  Barker Library does NOT have all ASME papers.  Look for individual paper numbers in a variety of locations to try to find them.

• 1955 - 1967:  Papers in microfiche are in cabinets labeled "Society Papers" in the microfiche room on the 5th floor of Barker Library.  Organized by year, then paper number.
• 1955 - 2001: Papers in print were collected and bound by year.  Example: paper 71-NE-14 is found in the 1971 volumes.  Here is the record in our collection.  These items are stored in the Library Annex. You may request the entire volume or a PDF of any individual paper(s) you need by clicking on the "Find it in the Library/Request Item" link.  
• GT or Gas Turbine papers: These items are stored in the Library Annex. You may request the entire volume or a PDF of any individual paper(s) you need by clicking on the "Find it in the Library/Request Item" link.  
  • 1968 - 1981: See Item Record.
  • 1982 - 1987: See Item Record.
  • 1988 - 2002: See Item Record.
• WA or Winter Annual papers: These items are stored in the Library Annex. You may request the entire volume or a PDF of any individual paper(s) you need by clicking on the "Find it in the Library/Request Item" link.  
  • 1960 - 1970: See Item Record.
  • 1970 - 1998: See Item Record. 
• 2002 - present:  check the ASME Digital Collection for PDFs of proceedings papers
  • Many papers are available through the Libraries as part of conference proceedings. Search our collections for the ASME conference.  Sometimes searching for the section also helps (example: DETC, AMD, FED, etc).
  • GT or Gas Turbine papers: Search our collections for Turbo Expo (call number TJ778.A76). These items are located in the Library Annex and can be requested through the catalog.

If you do not find the ASME paper that you need, Ask Us!

Use these print volumes to determine the paper number or other useful information to help track down the full text of the paper.  As a last resort, the "Difficult to find engineering papers" from Linda Hall Library might help.

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