Geological Society of America & Geoscience Information   Society Annual Meeting [Conference Report]

  	
  	
  	
  


	Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship  	Fall 1999  


	DOI:10.5062/F4J38QHJ


  

  Conference Reports
  Report from the Geological Society of America Conference and  Geoscience Information Society Annual Meeting
  Denver, Colorado, October 24-28, 1999
      Kay G. Johnson
  Cataloger and Geological Sciences Librarian
  University of Tennessee, Knoxville
johnsonk@utk.edu

  
     The Geoscience Information Society (GIS), an organization of librarians  and other information professionals, holds its annual meeting during the  annual Geological Society of America (GSA) Conference. It provides a rare  opportunity for geoscience information professionals to mingle with all  types of geology practitioners and attend a few hard-core geology research  talks in addition to meetings about geological information.     This was my first conference as a new member of GIS, and I didn't know  what to expect. What I discovered was a small core membership who  welcomed me openly and amazed me with their intelligence and knowledge  about geoscience information issues. I attended the GIS Preservation  Meeting, GIS Poster Session, GIS Collection Development Issues session and  the Geoscience Information Topical Session. The Preservation Meeting  examined the importance collections of field notebooks and other raw data  have for geoscientists, particularly those interested in the history of  geology. I also learned that large brittle maps can be copied by scanning  them into a digital format and printing the scanned image. 

     The major discussion topic at the Collection Development Issues session  was the future of the geoscience journal and publisher package deals.   Many are concerned that the electronic journals often leave out  information available in the printed journals. Advertisements can be  important even to geoscientists and geoscience information providers.   Michael Noga from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology provided a  handout illustrating Geoscience Serials Prices tracked by individual title  from 1993 through 2000 with percent changes for 98/99 and 99/2000. He  updates this list yearly, and will publish a longer version in the  December issue of the Geoscience Information Society Newsletter. 

     The GIS poster sessions and talks covered a variety of topics from  archival geology collections to a statistical analysis of the longevity of  geoscience information. Full reports will be published next year in the  GIS Proceedings volume. 

     When I wasn't attending GIS meetings, I browsed through the GSA exhibits,  poster sessions, and a saw a presentation on the recent earthquakes in  Turkey, Taiwan and Arizona. The exhibits feature a huge GSA Bookstore  booth plus vendors selling everything from books and minerals to x-ray  diffractometers. The exhibits provide a great opportunity to collect  obscure catalogs and field guidebook information. 

     The best part of the GSA Conference/GIS Meeting was meeting the GIS  members. I'm convinced that every geology librarian should join GIS. The  group is a strong force within the geosciences community and acts as a  lobby for the continued dissemination of continuing, low-cost  publications. The GIS members encourage and assist one another in  geoscience collection development matters, making themselves an invaluable  resource. For more information about GIS and its publications, see the  web site at: http://www.geoinfo.org/

     

  

  
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