THE MONTANA-YELLOWSTONE GEOLOGIC FIELD GUIDE DATABASE: A DIGITAL RESOURCE TO INTEGRATE FIELD-BASED RESEARCH, TEACHING, AND LEARNING

Field experiences are a central component of the modern geoscience curriculum, and published field guides and road/traverse logs are invaluable resources to facilitate the development of teaching and learning in the field. These references are also a primary means by which geologic information is transferred from experienced researchers to the wider scientific and academic communities. Despite their importance, most of the publications of this type are part of a "gray literature" that is not well known, widely distributed, or readily accessible for searching.

The Montana-Yellowstone Geologic Field Guide Database, http://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/mtroadlogs/index.html, is a pilot project for making the field guide literature of a geologically diverse and often visited region more accessible and useful for geoscience educators, students, and researchers. This digital resource features a fully searchable and growing collection of more than 50 of the best references for learning about the geology of this fascinating region. Bibliographic, geographic, and geologic (e.g., rock types, structures, landforms, etc.), information for each reference is summarized and cataloged using the digital library technologies provided by the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College. Resources may be discovered by faceted searching of geologic topic, geographic location, and geologic province. Information for obtaining the various publications is also provided, as well as a listing of useful web resources related to field-based learning, a list of the “top-10” field trips in Montana and Yellowstone National Park, a forum to post and share field-based exercises, and web links providing practical information for planning and leading field trips in the region. While the database is not an exhaustive listing of every published field guide in Montana or Yellowstone, this resource will grow as users submit additional references and field-based exercises to the collection by means of the online forms included on the site. This project was funded by a grant to the DLESE Community Services Center (NSF EAR 0306708).