GEOSCIENCE DATA AND COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION: WHAT CAN THE PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY DO NOW?

Geoscience data and collections, defined as physical items (e.g., cores, cuttings, fossils, and other non-digital items), form the basis of geoscience research. As such, one would assume that they are treated with care and preserved in ways that allow free, easy, and searchable access. However, with changing emphasis in industry, government, and academic research, along with mergers, lay-offs, and retirements, geoscience data and collections are at risk of being lost. Indeed, many already have been lost, at potentially great cost both in terms of investment dollars and intellectual capital.

The recently released NRC report entitled Geoscience Data and Collections: National Resources in Peril provides a series of recommendations to stop loss of geoscience data and collections, and to provide adequate support for them in the future. Foremost among these recommendations is the call for establishing three regional geoscience data and collections centers immediately, with others to follow as needed. Other recommendations will cost virtually nothing, but still will require a focused community effort and commitment on the parts of our professional societies. The geoscience community at large, through its professional societies and organizations, can implement immediately two such efforts?awards and citations.

Professional societies (GSA, AGU, AAPG, SEPM, and others) should emphasize the importance of geoscience data and collections by providing recognition for those who maintain geoscience data and collections at major disciplinary meetings or other such venues. Professional societies also can lead the charge for appropriate citations of geoscience data and collections use within their own professional publications. Currently, such notations occur most often in acknowledgments, if at all. The professional community should implement a standard format for bibliographic citation of geoscience data and collections used in the course of research. Something this simple and straightforward will result in dramatically enhanced recognition of these data and collections, in addition to raising the level of awareness of how often they are used (similar to various citations indices currently in use).