Physics Library Portal: Students
Welcome
Welcome to the Physics library dashboard. The dashboard provides quick links to the resources you need to succeed in your course. Whether you are online or on-Grounds, UVA Library services and support are available to all students.
Your Librarian
Your Librarian is Ricky Patterson
Each department at UVA is assigned a research librarian. 
Connect with Ricky for help with your assignments. This service is available to all Physics students, and meeting with a librarian early in your research process can help you save time and make the entire experience less daunting.
Ricky can help with: learning how to access Library resources online, identifying relevant databases/journals for research papers, using OverLeaf/LaTeX to write papers, and locating data sources. Ricky can meet with you online via Zoom or in-person.
Ask a Librarian
Sign Up for Library events
Sign up for Library orientations, workshops, and events with our online calendar. UVA Library programming is offered in-person and online.
Search for books and academic articles
- Online Physics Textbooks - Search in Virgo, the Library Catalog, for online editions of Physics textbooks. You may find editions that are helpful for your current classes.
Academic databases contain peer-reviewed articles, scientific papers, reports, and more. These are the most used databases for Physics research.
- ADS: Astrophysics Data System This link opens in a new windowFull Text Citations and abstracts of articles in astronomy and physics, with links to published version and to preprints. It is also possible to search the fulltext of documents scanned for ADS.
- arXiv This link opens in a new windowOpen access to over 1,500,000 e-prints in Physics (including Astronomy), Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics, Quantitative Biology, Quantitative Finance, Electrical Engineering & Systems Science, and Economics
- Web of Knowledge/Web of Science This link opens in a new windowIncludes Book Citation Index- Science (2005-), Book Citation Index- Social Science & Humanities (2005-), Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Science (1990-), Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Social Sciences & Humanities (1990-), Current Chemical Reactions (1985-), Index Chemicus (1993-), Science Citation Index Expanded (1900-), Social Sciences Citation Index (1900-), Arts & Humanities Citation Index (1975-), and Emerging Sources Citation Index (2005-present).
API available, more information here: APIs for Scholarly Research - inSPIRE This link opens in a new windowCurated literature collection in High-Energy Physics, including these fields: Particle physics, Astrophysics, Gravitation and cosmology, Nuclear physics, as well as some coverage of condensed matter and atomic physics, mathematical physics, quantum physics, computing, accelerators, detectors and experimental methods. Also includes curated database of conferences and journals in these areas.
- Lecture Notes in Physics (Springer)The series Lecture Notes in Physics (LNP), founded in 1969, reports new developments in physics research and teaching - quickly and informally, but with a high quality and the explicit aim to summarize and communicate current knowledge in an accessible way. Books published in this series are conceived as bridging material between advanced graduate textbooks and the forefront of research.
Search Virgo
Libkey Nomad - Access Journal Articles
Libkey Nomad is a browser extension that instantly identifies links to articles for full text access (either through the library's holdings or through Open Access sources), and if it can't find a version of the article that is available to you through your library, it will fill out an ILL request for you through the library. It means you can browse the publisher websites directly rather than searching the library website for an article.
Download and install the Libkey Nomad browser extension from the Chrome, Firefox or MacOS (for Safari) stores. Note that the installation procedure for Safari is detailed on the MacOS store page. For Chrome or Firefox:
- You will see a pop up stating that Libkey Nomad can "read and change all your data on the websites you visit." This is allows Libkey Nomad to detect article details on pages you visit, so it can locate them for you in our library holdings, and it also allows it to add download buttons to the webpage. No data about you or your searches is saved!
Watch/read tutorials
- LinkedIn Learning- For Students and Faculty This link opens in a new windowLinkedIn Learning is a leading online learning company that helps anyone learn business, software, technology and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals. Members have access to the lynda.com video library of engaging, top-quality courses taught by recognized industry experts.
- O'Reilly for Higher Education This link opens in a new window
O’Reilly includes tech and business content from more than 250 publishers - along with videos, case studies, expert-curated learning paths and self-assessments.
From the drop-down menu, choose: Not listed? Click here. Then enter UVa email address to access content.
Instructors: If you are using books on O’Reilly as course textbooks, please be aware that O’Reilly can and does pull titles mid-semester without notice to the Library. - Very Short Introductions This link opens in a new window
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects — from Public Health to Buddhist Ethics, Soft Matter to Classics, and Art History to Globalization. Each volume provides an authoritative and engaging assessment of a concept, field, or body of work, drawing out the central ideas, themes, and approaches.
Access to: Arts & Humanities, Law, Medicine & Health, Science & Mathematics, and Social Sciences.