Answered By: Ken Winter
Last Updated: Mar 22, 2021     Views: 141

VTRC Reports: 1970-Present
In 2006 the Library digitized all published VTRC Research Reports from 1970-present.  As a result, f
ull-text copies of around 2,000 research reports published by VDOT's research arm, the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC), can be found on the VTRC Web site at: http://vtrc.virginiadot.org/PUBS.aspx

Those reports can also be discovered by searching the Library Catalog, however, for simple searches the Web site link above is your best approach at this time. 

For complex, multi-faceted searches (example: searching for reports within a year span, that have specific words in the abstract), it may be better to use the Library Catalog. Please contact a librarian if you need assistance.

In some instances, researchers may be trying to find truly comprehensive listings and descriptions of VTRC reports, or even seeking evidence of other documents (not "reports") published through VDOT's research arm or otherwise  "produced" by VTRC staffers at some point in VTRC's long history. Please contact the library if you need assistance.


VTRC Reports Published 40s-60s
As noted, all modern (1970-present) VTRC research reports can be found using the library's Library Catalog, which allows for advanced, "fielded" searching by author, title, subject heading, keyword and more. 

Our library catalog holdings for older reports get less comprehensive as we go back in time, however, we estimate that about around 90% of all VTRC reports from the 1960s can be found in the catalog, around 60% of all reports from the 1950s are in there, and slightly less for the 1940s are in there. Please contact the library for help finding an older VTRC report: Library@VDOT.Virginia.gov.

Even though every VTRC Report may not be "discoverable" in the library catalog, we own copies of them all. Our print collections contain more than 50 bound volumes (by publication year) of VTRC reports and other publications going back to 1944. They reside on the library's shelves at this call number: REFERENCE TE 24 .V8 V473, however, none of the reports in these bound volumes prior to 1970 have been digitized.


Other Finding Aids
Over the years two extensive listings or "bibliographies" of VDOT research publications have also been produced and we scanned those pages to make them more accessible for you.  The links below can help researchers identify publications produced by VTRC: 

The Virginia Highway Research Council: Bibliography of Writings, 1944-June 1966, with annotations.

Download Part 1: pages 1-214 (Note: This large file may take time to download.)
Download Part 2: pages 215-428 (Note: This large file may take time to download.)
 

An Annotated Bibliography of Virginia Transportation Research Council Writings, July 1966-June 1989.

Download pages 1-409 (Note: This large file may take time to download.)


As you'll see, these annotated bibliographies contain organized "lists" of citations to reports and abstracts or summaries of the findings of most of those reports, a process called "annotating."  However, these they do not contain the full text of any of the documents listed. The full text of individual reports can be found (as noted earlier in this FAQ) in the library's print collections, or in the bound volumes on the library's shelves at this call number: REFERENCE TE 24 .V8 V473. Please contact a librarian if you need assistance.

 

Other Publications Authored by VTRC Staffers
As implied by its title, the first annotated bibliography listed above "The Virginia Highway Research Council: Bibliography of Writings, 1944-June 1966, with annotations," contains citations to many types of works authored at VTRC beyond VTRC research reports.  For example, it also cites: work plans, memoranda, manuals, white papers, conference presentations, committee reports and even articles written by VTRC researchers for professional publication or presentation.