The Engineering Library expanded again in 1969 when classrooms on the third floor of Engineering Hall were converted into a reading room and a stairway was built to connect with the second floor. The main entrance of the Library was shifted to the second floor along with circulation, reference, and reserve book services. Additional space for engineering materials was made available in the Altgeld Hall library stacks in the 1970's. The Engineering Library is part of the nationally recognized UIUC physical sciences and applied sciences collection. Predominantly English, with Russian, Japanese, French, Spanish, and German of secondary importance.
English translations are preferred to original foreign language works.
Emphasis is on current developments. There is minimal interest in the history of engineering and technology. Emphasis is on scholarly treatment rather than popularization, textbooks, and children's literature. The Undergraduate Library normally collects more popular treatments and the Education and Social Sciences Library collects children's literature for its School Collection. Engineering is a field with both theoretical and applied aspects and is highly interdisciplinary, particularly in the physical sciences.