Illinois state geological survey library

mary krick
librarian
illinois state geological survey
champaign, illinois

The Geological Survey Library supports current research by survey staff and collects publications on Illinois geology. Survey research includes finding ways to make Illinois' high sulfur coal usable; locating and describing the mineral resources of Illinois; studying the stratigraphy of the state so that formations likely to provide a water source or an oil field can be identified; studying the properties of geologic materials and how they are affected by pollutants so that geologic guidelines for safe waste disposal sites can be established; determining where earthquakes, subsidences, and landslides have occurred, are likely to occur, and why; and studying the basic geology of the state so that the information necessary to answer future questions will be available.

The library began in the early 1900s when survey researchers realized that because they were duplicating each other's collections and the materials had outgrown available space, a centralized library was needed. The first professional librarian was not hired until 1947 to put the collection into usable form. She left in 1955 and was not replaced until 1971. The library currently has two full-time staff, one librarian and one technical assistant. The library is funded by the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), but has no formal budget. In recent years expenditures for library materials have been approximately $15,000 per year.

The heart of our collections is our own ISGS publications. Two of these are basic reference works: Bulletin 92, Bibliography and index of Illinois geology through 1965, by H. B. Willman and others, 1968; and Bulletin 95, Handbook of Illinois stratigraphy, by H. B. Willman and others, 1975. Through exchanges we have developed a solid collection of publications of most other state geological surveys, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Canada, and the U.S. Bureau of Mines. We subscribe to nearly two hundred journals and newsletters in the fields of geology, geophysics, geochemistry, coal research, mining engineering, mineral economics, hydrogeology, and environmental geology. We also collect report literature, theses, and publications of geological associations. The collection includes relatively few monographs because most of the information requested by our researchers exists in the report and periodical literature; only those monographs closely related to specific research and needed over a long period of time are purchased.

Because geology is a field in which historical publications are often vital, many of our series date back to the 1800s. Gifts have played a role in building that portion of our collection and have also provided a variety of otherwise unavailable materials. We regularly receive boxes of old publications being cleaned out of offices or basements.

The collection is growing, but slowly. This is because we have carried on an active weeding program identifying nonhistorical, outdated publications and withdrawing them to conserve our limited space. Current size estimates remain at 4,000 monographs, 6,000 "bound" journals, and 17,000 documents. Let me emphasize that this is a rough estimate. We do not bind most of our journals, we have an incomplete shelf list from which to count, and past estimates of the collection were as likely to include journal issues as not.

Public access to our collection can be gained in person or by mail or phone. We loan our materials on interlibrary loan, answer reference questions, and occasionally prepare short bibliographies. For more involved requests we suggest pertinent bibliographies and indexes to check and we explain the availability and costs of on-line subject searching. Frequently we refer patrons to our geologists or to other survey collections — the Map Room, the Geologic Records Section, and the Geological Samples Library. The Map Room houses published and work-maps on Illinois geology, USGS topographic map for Illinois and neighboring states, unpublished manuscripts, and field notebooks. The Geologic Records Section maintains well record data for the oil, natural gas, and water wells within the state. These data are filed by location and include a record of the drilling and completion of each well. Many of the files include geophysical logs that are especially useful in petroleum prospecting. The Geological Samples Library houses cuttings and cores obtained from wells and borings around the state. These may be examined with prior approval from the survey.

Although the ISGS Library was established to serve survey researchers and its collection has been built around their needs, it is open to the public. During the past three years one couple has used our library one afternoon every week. When they found us they knew nothing about geology; now they are successful in the oil business. They think of our collection as a gold mine and so do we.

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