COLLECTIONS:

Special Collections

University Archives

Collection Preservation

Research Collections:
Geology and Geophysics Collections

Collection  Overview
The goal is to develop a collection that fulfills the needs and requirements of the research and teaching faculty in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, the graduate and undergraduate students, the Weston campus, and the general interests of the Boston College community.

Research in the Geology and Geophysics Department revolves around geochemical cycles, sediment transport in coastal environments, geophysical hydrology, seismicity (the causes of earthquakes and the structure of the crust and mantle in the northeastern United States- the Weston Observatory operates a regional seismic network for New England and vicinity), Geographic Information System (management, research, and development of database for the geological bedrock map of Massachusetts), geochemistry, rock mechanics, experimental sedimentation, structural geology, and paleontology.

Journals and mongraphs, the United States Geological Survey and other governmentally  produced materials in print, CD, map and electronic formats form the bulk of our current collections strength. More and more of our journals are being made available electronically to our users.

Resource sharing in the form of membership in regional and national organizations like the Boston Library Consortium will increasingly play a signficant role in collection development. As access to resources and document delivery become easier and faster due to advances in technology, we will depend more and more on Interlibrary Loan, facsimile transmission, purchase of articles, electronic and on-demand publication and retrieval. Reference sources continue to be acquired for the BC Libraries as valuable research tools.

Syed Khan
Geology and Geophysics Bibliographer
617-552-4450
E-Mail: khans@bc.edu

Selected Resources

In the O'Neill Library:

• Extensive holdings in geological and geophysical research journal literature.

• Bibliographies, indexes & abstracts:

  • Bibliography of North American Geology

  • Bibliography and Index of Geology Exclusive of North America

  • Bibliography and Index of Geology

  • Geophysical Abstracts

  • Geological Society of America - Abstracts with Programs

  • Deep Sea Research. Part B: Oceanographic Literature Review

  • Environment Index/Abstracts, Pollution Abstracts

  • Mineralogical Abstracts, Water Resources Abstracts

  • Chemical Abstracts

  • Index to  Scientific & Technical Proceedings

In the Catherine B. O'Connor Library (Weston Observatory)

• Thousands of maps, selected journal and monographic titles.

On the Web (Restricted to the BC Community):

• Index to the research literature: GeoRef.

• General indexes and tables of contents services:

  • Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded)

  • Current Contents Current

  • Uncover Reveal.

• Gateways to full text electronic journals:  Springer LINK, Wiley InterScience, JSTOR (ecological journals).  See also the Boston College Electronic Journals list.

• Other databases in the sciences: Subject Indexes to Online Databases: Sciences.  This web page also has links to other subject lists of databases.

Research Guides
More information about available resources can be found in the following resource guides: Research Guide: Geology and Geophysics.

Interdisciplinary Elements of Subject Area
Collection development for Geology and Geophysics involves coordination with other disciplines in the School of Arts and Sciences and some programs in the School of Education. The interdisciplinary subjects include cartography, energy, environment, geochemistry, geophysics, natural history and waste management.

Formats and Types of Materials
Intermediate and advanced level monographs, research journals and serials and some textbooks form the bulk of the collection. Conference proceedings and dissertations are acquired as needed. Government documents, technical reports and maps, primarily of the U.S. Geological Survey, are essential to the collection. A growing number of resources are becoming available in both print and electronic formats; decisions to collect in one or the other format (or both) are made on a title by title basis.

Languages
English is the language of  choice.

Geographic Areas (Subject Approach)
Emphasis in the departmental research is on New England, Northern Appalachians, Maritime Canada and their relationships to Ireland, the British Isles, Western Europe and Africa. However, other areas are selectively represented. North American and European publications are generally collected.

Time Periods (Subject Approach)
Current developments in geological and geophysical sciences are emphasized.

Dates of Publication
Recent publications are collected. Older titles are acquired on demand.

Subject Areas Collected by Library of Congress Classification Number
BCAT, the online catalog, can be searched by LC classification number to get a better idea of what specific titles the geology and geophysics collections contain.  For example, the command c=QB601 will produce the beginning of a list of works on planetary geology.  This list can be browsed by pressing the F8 key or typing f and pressing the Enter/Return key.