Due to a lapse in appropriations, the majority of USGS websites may not be up to date and may not reflect current conditions. Websites displaying real-time data, such as Earthquake and Water and information needed for public health and safety will be updated with limited support. Additionally, USGS will not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.  For more information, please see www.doi.gov/shutdown

USGS Library

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Welcome to the USGS Library! Authorized by Congress in 1879, the U.S Geological Survey Library is recognized as one of the world’s largest Earth and natural science libraries, providing services, collections, and expertise that are essential to the USGS mission and the global geoscience community.

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Library Holiday Hours

All USGS Library locations will be closed from December 24th to January 2nd. Staff will be available to respond to electronic and phone requests. Happy Holidays!

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News

Date published: November 30, 2018

Researcher finds hidden gems in Denver Library Photo Collection

The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) Denver Library houses an ...

Attribution: USGS Library
Date published: April 12, 2016

USGS Continues to Write History

The fourth volume of the comprehensive history of the U.S. Geological Survey, Minerals, Lands, and Geology for the Common Defence and General Welfare: Volume 4, 1939‒1961, has been issued as an electronic document.

Date published: March 24, 2016

More Science at Your Fingertips

The USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC) recently completed and launched a new and improved interface, making USGS data more accessible and discoverable for users. The USGS SDC is a searchable public data catalog for more than 7,000 USGS data assets and 20 USGS collections.

Publications

Year Published: 2015

Minerals, lands, and geology for the common defence and general welfare, Volume 4, 1939-1961: A history of geology in relation to the development of public-land, federal science, and mapping policies and the development of mineral resources in the United States from the 60th to the 82d year of the U.S. Geological Survey

The fourth volume of the comprehensive history of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is titled “Minerals, Lands, and Geology for the Common Defence and General Welfare—Volume 4, 1939‒1961.” The title is based on a passage in the preamble of the U.S. Constitution. The late Mary C. Rabbitt (1915‒2002), a geophysicist who served with...

Rabbitt, Mary C.; Nelson, Clifford M.
Rabbitt, M.C., and Nelson, C.M., 2015, Minerals, lands, and geology for the common defence and general welfare—Volume 4, 1939–1961: Reston, Va., U.S. Geological Survey, 704 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/70142267.

Year Published: 2012

On-line access to geoscience bibliographic citations

On-line geoscience bibliographic citations and access points to citations are exponentially increasing as commercial, non-profit, and government agencies worldwide publish materials electronically. On-line bibliographic tools capture cited works, and open access content allows for freely obtained citations and documents. For this newsletter,...

Wild, Emily C.
On-line access to geoscience bibliographic citations; 2012; Article; Journal; EXPLORE: Newsletter for the Association of Applied Geochemists; Wild, Emily C.

Year Published: 2004

The U.S. Geological Survey Library

Established in 1879, to build and organize a collection of scientific materials in the earth sciences, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Library is the largest earth sciences collection in the world. The USGS Library System is managed by the Geographic Information Office (GIO), Information Policy and Services Office, and includes four libraries in...

The U.S. Geological Survey Library; 2004; FS; 125-03; Geological Survey (U.S.)