General policies and principles for the Library's collections are stated in the General Collection Development Policy.  

Purpose of the Collection

Collection activity in geology is to support the instructional curriculum and research activity in the Department of Earth Science.

Academic Department/Program Description

The Department of Earth Science offers a B.A., five B.S. degrees with specific emphases, a minor, and a five-year Bachelor/Masters degree.  The five areas of emphasis for the B.S. are geology, climate and environment, geohydrology, paleobiology, and geophysics.  At the graduate level, the department offers both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. The Department of Earth Science works with several related research organizations including the Earth Research Institute and Marine Science Institute

Subject Parameters

Departmental research focuses on:

  • Geochronology
  • Petrology and Volcanology
  • Seismology and Geophysics
  • Surface Processes, Sedimentology, and Hydrology 
  • Structure and Tectonics
  • Biogeochemistry
  • Paleobiology and Evolution
  • Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology

Scope

Materials purchased in geology support the research and curriculum needs of the department and are generally current English language resources. Preference is given to electronic formats due to space considerations in the library as well as convenience of access.

Because the budget for serials is fully committed, new subscriptions are considered only if an equivalent dollar amount of existing local subscriptions can be cancelled.

Systemwide and Other Resources

In order to maximize our purchasing power, the vast majority of materials selected for geology are purchased consortially with other UC campuses.  Major electronic resources include:

  • Databases, including GeoRef, Earthquake Engineering Abstracts, Oceanic Abstracts, Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts, Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, and Web of Science.
  • Monographs, including titles from the American Geophysical Union, Elsevier, Springer, and Wiley.
  • Serials, including titles from the American Geophysical Union, the Geological Society of America, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Elsevier, Springer, and Wiley.

Subject librarian: Annie Platoff
Policy Last Updated: June 2015