USGS PUBLICATIONS: CURRENT ACCESS VIA THE WEB AND VIA CATALOGS

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has included providing the Nation with reliable, impartial information to describe and understand the Earth. This has been accomplished, at least in part, by producing publications, including: bulletins, professional papers, various map series, water resources investigations, and open-file reports. Many of these publications, both those currently being released, as well as some which have long been out of print, are now being made available more quickly and widely via the many USGS web servers. Organized subject access to these publications is still provided by several of the traditional indexing sources, including: GeoRef, the National Geological Map Database, the USGS publications database, and the New Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey, as well as via Government Printing Office [GPO] records. Many local universities or agencies load these GPO records into the local library catalogs. This study examined coverage in these sources of both currently released publications and previously published titles, which have recently been made available in electronic form; findings indicate that coverage of neither electronic nor print versions of USGS publications is presently comprehensive in the above mentioned tools. Thus researchers may need to search a variety of sources to be sure of retrieving the most appropriate information for their needs. As the USGS moves to consolidate and standardize its web presence, it is expected that title coverage and subject indexing will become more consistently available.