Library

Libraries at WSDOT

Our libraries serve the information needs of agency employees and WSDOT contractors and consultants.

• The WSDOT Library, located at WSDOT headquarters in Olympia, contains agency publications and materials related to transportation topics. The collection includes books, technical reports, conference proceedings, journals, manuals, general and legal reference materials, historical materials and exam preparation materials.
• The Materials Laboratory Library supports the functions of the State Materials Laboratory. The collection focuses on pavement engineering, geotechnical engineering, materials testing, and construction and fabrication inspection.
• The Washington State Ferries Engineering Libraries are comprised of two primary collections: Terminal Engineering, relating to the ferry terminals’ construction, operation and maintenance; and Vessel Engineering, relating to the vessels’ construction, operation and maintenance. These collections are closed to the public.

Levels of service

• WSDOT employees, contractors and consultants- access to databases, e-Journals, standards and specifications, receive current news alert delivery, obtain a library card, access library materials from our collection or the collection of other libraries, request quick facts, in-depth research, literature searches and custom bibliographies.
• Washington state employees – access library materials from our collection, request quick facts and research.
• General Public – access materials from our collection in-house via appointment, check out materials from our collection through interlibrary loan (requested by another library), request quick facts and research.

Collections

View our collection of over 45,000 cataloged items via the Washington State Library catalog. The catalog contains records for print materials held in the WSDOT Library and the Materials Laboratory Library, including books, technical reports, conference proceedings, journals, manuals and historical materials. Some records include a link to a digital version of a publication.

Digital collections

Access materials online through our digital collections. Our digital collections contain historical print and born-digital documents published by WSDOT and its predecessor agencies from 1905 to present. Looking for additional historic highway maps? Visit the Washington State Library’s Historical Maps collection.

Agency records

Library collections do not include agency records. To request agency records, such as as-built plans or project drawings, visit the Public Disclosure Request Center.