THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, BUREAU OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGY CORE AND SAMPLE REPOSITORIES

The Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG), a research arm of the University of Texas at Austin, also acts as the Geological Survey of Texas. BEG has been curating cores and samples for over seventy years, and an integral part of BEG's mission is to preserve this invaluable geologic resource and make it accessible for future research. BEG operates three repositories (Austin, Houston, and Midland), and together they hold nearly 1.8 million boxes of geologic material available for public use. The collection includes onshore and offshore rock material from domestic and international locations, and it is searchable online.

The newest of the BEG repositories is the Houston Research Center (HRC). BEG, building on a gift from BP, and with the support of the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Research Council (NRC), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other donors, has established HRC as the first regional core and sample research center in Houston. The NRC has strongly supported the establishment of regional core and sample repositories such as HRC. NSF is funding HRC to curate terrestrial cores, samples, and collections acquired during NSF-funded projects, as well as other important geologic collections at risk of disposal.

HRC provides a well-lit core layout room, two fully equipped conference rooms, and a comprehensive technical library, all available for public use. Most of the cores, samples, and cuttings at HRC were acquired by private industry, but all are now available to the public. HRC expanded in 2004 to include an extensive technical library donated by Unocal Corporation. Valued at nearly $5 million, the 80,000-volume collection is a research-quality library emphasizing geology, geophysics, and petroleum engineering. The library is open to the public and has a professional librarian onsite.

HRC's mission is: • To curate and provide access to geologic materials in a setting conducive to research. • To increase awareness of the value of rock materials through outreach programs. • To enable academic and industry members to promote and defend the importance of geologic material in the financial decision-making process. • To work with industry and government to build both our collection and endowment that will eventually cover all operating expenses and user fees, resulting in a true public geologic research center.