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State
Spotlight:
California
Department of Conservation's California Geological
Survey Library
The
California
Geological Survey Library (CGSL), a service of
the Department
of Conservation, is open to the public for
reference and research. Established in 1880, the
library houses over 20,000 books, reports, maps,
photographs, journals, and periodicals pertaining
to the earth sciences and
California's geology.
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Arlington
Mine
Copyright © California Department of Conservation, 2006.
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The
CGSL is particularly concerned with the geology of
California, the study of which demands mapping in diverse
forms. Items
in the CGSL collection include scientific maps of
the types, ages, and extents of different rock
masses in California; the
locations and types of mineral deposits in the
state, the locations and extent of potentially
hazardous minerals in the state; the
locations of geologic hazards such as faults or
landslides and the risks from earthquakes,
landslides, or debris flows in specific areas of
the state; listings of the effects of different climates in
the state especially with respect to the geography
in which they occur.
According
to the CGSL’s Senior Librarian Pam Ryan, the CGSL
has a customer base that extends beyond CGSL
staff, and state and federal agency employees.
Anyone interested in California’s diverse physical or business environments
from teachers, students, and parents to attorneys,
historians, miners, genealogists, contractors,
developers, consultants, and even tourists, can
enjoy the CGSL’s specialized library services.
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Bodie
Mine
Copyright © California Department of Conservation, 2006.
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The
CGSL’s diverse customers come to the library
seeking information on a wide variety of topics.
Ryan reports that many customers contact
the CGSL for information for real estate
investment purposes.
These people want to know about earthquake
or landslide risks and mineral resource or mineral
hazards particularly.
Like
earthquake data, mining is also a popular topic at
this California
state agency library.
Ryan says she and her staff receive mining
questions on claims, on historic mines and mining,
on types of mining operations, on family genealogy
related to specific mines, on how to find gold and
other precious metals, and on the value of old
mining stocks.
Other customers inquire about historic
photographs of mines, mining equipment, and
publications and maps that the CGSL sells.
Staff
in California
libraries may request CGSL materials through
interlibrary loan channels at the California State
Library or local public libraries. For more
information about the California Geological Survey
Library please visit http://www.consrv.ca.gov/CGS/information/publications/library/index.htm.
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