This database serves as the Washington Geology Library catalog as well as a digital bibliography of the geology and mineral resources of Washington (including the Tsunami Library Catalog of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program)
SEARCH THE DATABASE
Updated monthly
This searchable database includes materials published since 1798. About 99% all of the items included in this database are held at our Washington Geology Library in Olympia, Washington. It will always be a work in progress; new citations are added and errors and unconformities are corrected monthly.
Almost 3500 items in the Geology Library are available full-text online; for these items, a URL will be displayed in the search results.
Search Tips | About the Database | How to Obtain the Publications
History of the Bibliography | Other Indexes to Washington Geology | Acknowledgments
SEARCH TIPS
- The search is not case sensitive; searching on Adams or adams or ADAMS gives the same results.
- Punctuation and special characters (such as ; " & + ) cannot be searched on.
- Multiple-word searches without Boolean operators will result in a phrase search. For example, maps geologic in the Subject field will find only those records with the word 'maps' immediately followed by the word 'geologic' in the field; however, maps & geologic will find records with the words 'maps' and 'geologic' anywhere in the field.
- The truncation symbol is * . For example, in the Subject field, paleo* would retrieve paleobotany, paleozoic, paleoclimatology, etc.
Boolean operators
Boolean searches can be conducted within fields and between fields.
Within fields, the operators are & (and), / (or), and ! (not). For example, in the Author field:
- Adams & Brown finds works by both Adams and Brown
- Adams / Brown finds works by either Adams or Brown
- Adams ! Brown finds works by Adams not by Brown
Between fields, select AND, OR, and NOT from the drop box preceding each field name.
Field names
- Author: The personal or corporate authors of the work
- Year: The year issued
- Title: The title of the work. For papers published in a collected volume (like a proceedings), this field also includes the authors and the title of that larger work.
- Publisher or Journal Name: The source of the work: the journal citation or publisher. This field also includes pagination.
- Call No.: The call number or location of the work in the Division of Geology and Earth Resources library
- Geographic Location/Area or Formation Name: The geographic indexing. Includes names of counties, cities, rivers, mountains, formations, provinces, etc.
- Subject: The topical indexing.
- Note: Includes comments on typography (such as italics or accented characters), variations in authors' names, reprint status, etc. Appears in search results only.
'Geographic Location/Area or Formation Name' field searching tips
Preference was given to including county names or physiographic provinces. Formation names are included when possible. This field also includes named localities, such as mountains or rivers.
'Subject' field searching tips
Preference was given to including broad geologic topics, subdivided by more specific aspects. The major topics include: areal geology; bibliography; earthquakes and seismology; engineering geology; environmental impact statements; geochronology; geophysics [subdivided as gravity surveys, magnetic surveys, etc.]; glacial geology; guidebooks; history and archaeology; hydrology; lakes; landslides and slope stability; maps [subdivided as geologic, geophysical, digital, etc.]; marine geology; mineral collecting; mineral resources; mining engineering; paleontology; petrology [subdivided as igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary]; shorelines; soils; stratigraphy; structural geology and tectonics, wilderness areas.
The indexing is not rigidly consistent because early attempts at such consistency proved to be counter-productive. The index includes 200 years’ worth of the older materials and the reports on the newest, cutting-edge research are included as soon as they appear. Because the emphases and vocabulary of those materials have continually evolved, the index terms have evolved, too.
Searching for particular formats:
- Floppy disks: Type floppy disk* in the Publisher field (probably includes both 5.25- and 3.5-inch disks)
- CD-ROMs: Type CD-ROM disk* in the Publisher field
- Videotapes: Type video tape* in the Publisher field
- Slide sets: Type slide* in the Publisher field
- Audio recordings: Type audio cassette* in the Publisher field
- Magnetic tape: Type magnetic tape* in the Publisher field
- Zip disks: Type zip disk* in the Publisher field
ABOUT THE DATABASE
As of August 2001, the database included the citations and indexing for about 36,500 items: about 31,000 items about the geology of Washington State, and about 5,500 additional items in our library. Approximately 1,000 items are added annually. This database has been maintained at the Division offices since 1935 and has been the source for our series of published bibliographies. New materials are added to the database monthly.
HOW TO OBTAIN THE PUBLICATIONS
Virtually all of the items included in this database are held at the Washington Geology Library in Olympia, Washington. Materials are not loaned from the library collection, but are available for examination during our office hours.
Many of the items are also held at major geoscience libraries in Washington, especially the University of Washington in Seattle. Other major geoscience libraries which may hold many of these materials are listed in the Geoscience Information Society’s Directory of Geoscience Libraries, North America.
Some of the items are in print and available for sale from the publishers (for example, from the U.S. Geological Survey or the Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources).
OTHER INDEXES TO WASHINGTON GEOLOGY
The American Geological Institute’s GeoRef database is the premier index to North American geology. On-campus access is available at most major universities (e.g., at the University of Washington).
The library catalogs of the U.S. Geological Survey and of most universities (for example, the University of Washington) are searchable online and are rich sources about the geology of Washington.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This database was compiled and edited by Connie J. Manson and Lee Walkling. We are gratified that this index project continues to be highly valued by the geoscience community. They deserve no less than our best efforts.
This major ongoing project has been a significant investment by the Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources and its predecessor agencies since 1935. The credit for the continued support for this project—through good times and bad—rests squarely with the State Geologists:
- George A. Bethune, 1890-1892
- Division inactive due to lack of funds, 1893-1900
- Henry Landes, 1901-1920
- Solon Shedd, 1920-1925
- Harold E. Culver, 1925-1945
- Sheldon L. Glover, 1945-1957
- Marshall T. Huntting, 1957-1971
- Vaughn E. (Ted) Livingston, Jr., 1971-1982
- Raymond Lasmanis, 1982-2001
- Ron Teissere, 2001-2008
- David K. Norman, 2008-present