Of course! Using physical materials is available for everyone affiliated with WPI, including community members and alumni. “Serendipitous discovery” by wandering the stacks is a fun and engaging way to do exploratory research if you are searching for something broad like a topic, not just a thesis. This guide to the call numbers can help you get started: https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/ Once you find the right call number zone for your topic of interest, (for example: ML 3805 is acoustics, HA 29 is theory of statistics, and QE 521 is volcanoes), explore away!
To find only physical items in the WPI Library Search, when you search the catalog, refine your results by finding the “Availability” option on the far left, and checking the box for “Available on the shelf.”
