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Conference Proceedings: Home

Guide to finding conference proceedings and papers.

How to find conference proceedings

Conference proceedings and papers may be published in various ways: as separate, one-time publications; as serials; or as special issues in journals. Sometimes only the abstract is published; sometimes the paper may be obtained only by contacting the author or society; sometimes the full text is on the web. Occasionally the papers are never published but may be cited by authors who attended the meetings. As a result of these variations, locating conference proceedings can be complicated.

Searching UC Library Search

In UC Library Search:

  1. Use the "Articles, books, & more" search profile, then enter unique keywords from the conference name as your search. It generally helps to leave out words like “proceedings”, “conference”, “symposium”, or “workshop”.

  2. Limit your search to Conference Proceedings under the Resource Type facet.
    Examples:
       european circuit theory design
       ieee decision control
       international joint artificial intelligence
       international solid-state sensors actuators
       international offshore polar engineering

  3. View your search results, looking for the record that matches your conference.

  4. Click into the title of conference to find the library location, the call number, and the availability status. If the conference is available online, you will also find the link to the online version.

Too many results? Try these techniques for narrowing your search:

  • Put your keywords in quotation marks to search as a phrase (e.g., "European circuit theory design").
  • Add terms like conference, symposium, or workshop.
  • Include the conference date and/or conference location in your search.
  • Try using Advanced Search and search as a Title instead of Keywords 

Exception: A few conference proceedings are published within book series and contain volume numbers as part of their citations. Primary examples include the SPIE Proceedings, MRS Symposia Proceedings, ASTM Special Technical Publications (STP), and Water Science and Technology. Each conference within these series is cataloged under its own name.

If you have the specific conference name, simply follow the steps above. If you have the series name and volume number instead, try the following:

Choose "Articles, books, & more" as your search profile, then enter the series name and volume number.

Examples:
   spie 1435
   water science technology 27

Finding proceedings not owned by UC Berkeley

For conference proceedings not owned by UC Berkeley, use the OCLC Proceedings database to search other libraries. The Proceedings database covers conferences from 1993 - present.

When you've located the proceeding you want. Use the Borrow this item from another library (Interlibrary Loan) link to submit an Interlibrary Loan request for the conference.

Special cases

Online collections: Try searching these online collections directly if you do not find the proceedings in UC Library Search.

ACM Digital Library: Full text from 1954 - present.

AIAA Electronic Library: Full text from 1963 - present.

ASCE Online Research Library: Full text from 2005 - present.

ASME Digital Library: Full text from 2002 - present.

IEEE Xplore: Full text from 1988 - present.

MRS Symposia Proceedings: Full text from 2000 - present.

SPIE Digital Library: Full text from 1998 - present.

USENIX Conference Proceedings: Full text from 1993 - present.

Water Science and Technology: Full text from 1982 – present.

Print only: Below are some frequently requested conferences that are not available online.

Society of Toxicology. The annual meeting conference is published as a special issue each year in the journal Toxicology Sciences. The issue is titled The Toxicologist and is not included in our online subscription to Toxicology Sciences. They are available in print through 1995 at NRLF, or check the Society of Toxicology website.

American Water Works Association Conference (AWWA). Available in CD-ROM at the Engineering Library. Search UC Library Search for availability and call numbers.

Finding individual papers from specific proceedings

You can find individual conference papers from specific conferences by searching appropriate databases.

PapersFirst: Covers 1993 - present.
Switch to Advanced Search. Choose appropriate fields from the pull-down menus, then search for the conference name, date, and/or location.

You can access additional databases from our list of Databases A-Z.

These databases often provide links to full-text articles online and automated library catalog searches through the Get it at UC service. Because of their complexity, these links often fail for conference proceedings. Be prepared to search UC Library Search yourself to identify the UCB call numbers and locations.

Need help?

Still not finding what you need? Ask a librarian for assistance.