RESOURCE CENTRE

library

Welcome to the TAC Library, your Transportation Information Service (TIS).

Our services provide the TAC membership with access to technical transportation reports, articles, and statistics as well as answers to specific questions in the transportation field. Many services are also open to non-members. We encourage you to browse!

The Library Collection

The TAC library contains thousands of volumes, covering all facets of transportation. As well as Canadian reports from all levels of government, universities, associations and the private sector, the library has a significant collection of documents from international organizations. These include the U.S. Transportation Research Board (TRB), the British Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The online Library Catalogue, containing records for over 18000 documents in the TAC collection, may be searched at no charge.

Literature Searches

TIS has access to numerous databases, permitting in-depth searches:

  • A subscription to TRANSPORT CD provides members and other users access to the world's most comprehensive international transportation database containing summaries of tens of thousands of research reports, conference papers and journal articles (see Fee Schedule for rates).
  • TIS has access to hundreds of databases through Dialog and the European Space Agency's Information Retrieval Service. The fee for reference searches on online databases varies depending on the database searched. Please contact the library for more information.
  • TIS maintains the database of Canadian surface transportation research in progress. It can be searched free of charge online or, if you wish, TIS staff will conduct a search for you (see Fee Schedule for rates).

Canadian Surface Transportation Research Survey

Every year, the Transportation Association of Canada conducts a survey of surface transportation research and development activity in Canada. The results are used to increase the exchange of knowledge between experts in the field of road and rail transportation. The information compiled in this survey is distributed in electronic format to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development where it becomes part of the International Transport Research Documentation database.

The Canadian portion of this international database is available on the TAC Web site. The database contains summaries of over 2000 research projects from more than 120 Canadian transportation research organizations, including Transport Canada, the National Research Council, the provincial and territorial transportation agencies, universities, associations, municipalities, private firms and other research agencies.

The projects cover a wide range of transportation subject areas, including: economics, the environment, soils and materials, highway and bridge design, construction and maintenance, traffic engineering, vehicle studies and rail transportation.

Involved in road or rail transportation research?
We depend on the participation of Canadian research organizations to help keep our database up to date.
New projects

Your input is gladly accepted at any time of the year. Let us know about your research work by completing the R&D survey project form. Please complete one form for each new project.

Updates

If you have previously provided TAC with some research information and would like to update your records, please contact Transportation Information Service, or call (613) 736-1350 ext. 244.

Referral Service

TAC maintains close contacts with the Canadian transportation community. As part of our information service, we can usually refer you to experts in the field: individuals or organizations who are recognized for their involvement with a particular problem or issue. Through TAC's participation in the World Interchange Network (WIN), the names of international transportation experts may also be obtained.