Promoting information access and discovery
The Research Library at Oak Ridge National Laboratory assists researchers in finding the information they need to carry out nationally important research. Primary subject areas covered include chemistry, physics, materials science, biological and environmental sciences, computer science, mathematics, engineering, nuclear technology, and homeland security. New library resources are primarily electronic, but the library still houses valuable print and microform collections.
Public resources
The ORNL Research Library primarily serves current staff at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and its affiliated institutions, satisfying requests for information that is directly related to supporting the DOE mission. Consequently, we are unable to meet the demands of members of the public who are seeking information about former employees or matters not directly related to DOE mission support. For members of the public who wish to locate this information, the following resources may be helpful:
Privacy Act Request – Submit a Privacy Act Request to the Department of Energy
OSTI.gov – the US Department of Energy’s repository of scientific and technical information, which contains technical reports and other works written by laboratory staff from all DOE laboratories.
NTIS.gov – the US National Technical Information Service is the largest federal repository of scientific, technical, engineering, and research information.
Scholar.google.com – a specific area of Google that searches scientific literature. You may find articles here that you can request from your local public library’s interlibrary loan department
FOIA Request – Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Energy (you may want to search here first)
How to Reach Us
The Research Library is located on the main ORNL campus in Building 4500N off the central corridor.
ORNL Research Library
Bldg. 4500N, MS-6208
1 Bethel Valley Rd.
P.O. Box 2008
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6191
Phone: 865.574.6744
Email: [email protected]
Hours: The library is open to badged personnel 24 hours, seven days a week. Staff are available at the reference desk on business days, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 3 pm.
Visitor Guidelines
On-campus visitors and guests – Research Library collections and services are available to all on-campus visitors and guests of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). When possible, computers that do not require log-in are available for guests to access library resources.
Employees of Y-12 – Y-12 employees can access electronic library resources from the Research Library’s internal Web site. The library welcomes employees of Y-12 to use the library for purposes related to official business. DOE-badged visitors from Y-12, DOE or subcontractors may need to go to the Visitor’s Center to get an access card for Building 4500N.
The general public – Anyone may contact the library for assistance with finding ORNL documents or with other questions. The library primarily serves current ORNL staff and is unable to meet the demands of the public seeking information about former employees. The library catalog is available to everyone, internal or external.
ORNL retirees – Laboratory retirees must be sponsored and cleared by another Laboratory organization in connection with official business to use the Research Library. Library staff are not authorized to request badges for retirees.
ORNL Staff Only
Off-Site Electronic Access – Library electronic resources, including electronic journals and databases, are only available to staff who have access to ORNL’s internal library web page (on the ORNL network).
Remote access to the network is available for ORNL staff members.