FAQ's about Publications

The USGS Educational Resources page provides links to online information on biology, geology, hydrology, and geography, as well as ordering information for additional materials -- many of which are available at no cost. Another excellent site is the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII).

USGS Field Records Library

Box 25046, MS 914

Denver Federal Center

Denver, CO 80225-0046

Telephone: 303-236-1000

FAX: 303-236-0015

TDD: 303-236-0998

E-mail: den_lib@usgs.gov

Jill Schneider

USGS Mineral Resources Surveys

Alaska Section

4200 University Drive

Anchorage, AK 99508-4667

Telephone: 907-786-7457 (Office) and 907-786-7007 (Library)

FAX: 907-786-7401

E-mail: jschnidr@usgs.gov

Two other sources of field records are:

1. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in College Park, Maryland, which keeps field record materials in their Archives II facility. Refer to the Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States (Washington, D.C.: NARA, 1995).

Inventory of the Records of the United States Geological Survey, Record Group 57, in the National Archives, part of USGS Circular 1179 (2000, CD-ROM): Records and History of the United States Geological Survey, contains information on USGS and related records accessioned by NARA through 1997 and held at NARA-II. Appendices in this inventory list field records held at NARA-II and by the USGS Field Records Library at Denver.

National Archives and Records Administration

8601 Adelphi Road

College Park, MD 20740-6001

Telephone: 301-713-6800 (General Reference Information)

Telephone: 1-866-272-6272 (Toll Free)

E-mail: inquire@nara.gov

URL: http://www.archives.gov/index.html

The Smithsonian Institution Archives

Arts and Industries Building, Room 2135

900 Jefferson Drive, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20560

Telephone: 202-357-1420

E-mail: OSIAREF@OSIA.SI.EDU

Rocky Mountain Mapping Center

USGS National Mapping Division

Box 25046, MS 506, Federal Center

Denver, CO 80225-0046

Telephone: 303-202-4394

Mid-Continent Mapping Center

USGS National Mapping Division

MS 309

1400 Independence Road

Rolla, MO 65401

Telephone: 573-308-3663

Probably. Visit our Geologic Information pages or we will take a look for you.

Go to these two websites:

• Sources of Radon Information
• Indoor Air Quality Publications

No. The National Atlas of the United States of America® published by the USGS in 1970, is out of print. However, the Library of Congress has added the original National Atlas to its American Memory collection on the World Wide Web. See the American Memory site to browse through the earlier atlas.

Also, many maps from the 1970 edition can be purchased from the USGS. See our page on Maps from the 1970 National Atlas for more information. Used or antique book stores are possible sources for the 1970 National Atlas. Reference copies are available in many libraries.

Publications you can read on the WWW are available in HTML or a document format called PDF. Reports are often provided with an introductory HTML page linked to the complete PDF file. Once you are viewing the document you can send it to your laser printer. The PDF file is likely to print in book layout, similar to a commercially formatted document.

If you don't have a laser printer to use, some USGS book report series that are not in print, such as Open-File Reports, can be duplicated for you through the USGS. Some online documents are also available in print. If you want a bound book, for instance, you would need to purchase that through the USGS.

Yes - USGS Circular 1325, "The Landslide Handbook - A Guide to Understanding Landslides", by Lynn Highland of the U.S. Geological Survey and Peter Bobrowsky of the Geological Survey of Canada. It is a resource to acquire knowledge about the geologic and climatic conditions which affect neighborhoods and communities.

A wide variety of additional information is available at "Links to More USGS Landslide Research and Information."

It's easy. BRD information is public information and in almost all cases, is available by request. (Limited exceptions exist that protect the interests of property owners and to protect sensitive species.) In addition, information about a wide range of geographical areas and species are available to you through BRD, which can help you locate and gain access to information in Federal, State, and private institutions. Much of this information is also available through the Internet at http://www.nbii.gov/.

The following USGS products will be helpful in determining the background levels of various elements in soils and other surficial materials:

• Professional Paper 1270. Element Concentrations in Soils and Other Surficial Materials of the Conterminous United States, by H.T. Shacklette, and J.G. Boerngen, 1984, 105 p.
  • Digital version of this data can be obtained from David Smith, dsmith@usgs.gov, or call him at (303) 236-1849.
• Professional Paper 1458. Element Concentrations in Soils and Other Surficial Materials of Alaska, by L.P. Gough, R.C. Severson, and H.T. Shacklette, 1988, 53 p.
  • Digital version of this data can be obtained from David Smith, dsmith@usgs.gov, or call him at (303) 236-1849.

USGS-authored or produced data and information are in the public domain. While the content of most USGS web pages and reports are in the public domain, not all information, illustrations, or photographs are. Some are used by USGS with permission. For other uses, you may need to obtain permission from the copyright holder under the copyright law.

You are welcome to make a link to any of the Web pages USGS has published on the Internet. There is no need to request permission.

Use of the USGS visual identifier (logo) is restricted to official publications.

When using information from USGS products, publications, or Web sites that are in the public domain, we ask that proper credit be given. Credit can be provided by including a citation such as the following:

Credit: U. S. Geological Survey

U. S. Geological Survey/photo by Jane Doe (if the artist is known)

USGS/Ft. Collins, CO (if originating office but not the artist is known)

Additional information is available from USGS Privacy Policy and Disclaimers and Acknowledging or Crediting USGS as Information Source.

If you have questions concerning the use of USGS information, contact the Office of Communications

The USGS Publications Warehouse provides an online catalog where you can place orders, view price information, download scanned versions and view a list of recent publications.

Searching the USGS Library catalog online will assist you in identifying additional publications not currently available in the Publications Warehouse.

Everybody. The USGS' BRD research and information is in the public domain. It's available through the Internet on the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) at http://www.nbii.gov/.

Out-of-print USGS publications and maps, depending on series and date, can be obtained in one of four ways:

1. Check the USGS Publications Warehouse for online availability.
   
2. Borrow from your local public, academic, or corporate library through a request for interlibrary loan.
3. Purchase through a document delivery service company. Several are listed on the web at http://www.docdel.com/Geology_and_Earth_Sciences.html
4. Purchase through used book and map dealers. Some places to start your search include:
   

   http://www.google.com (Search title in quotations.)

   http://www.lib.umn.edu/site/rqs.phtml?subject_id=104

   http://www.bookfinder.com

Geology is the study of the Earth. This scientific study includes how the Earth was formed, how the Earth has changed since it was formed, that materials that make up the earth, and understanding the processes that act on it. Marine Geology focuses these studies in areas affected by our oceans. These are the deep ocean floor, the shallower slopes and shelves that surround the continents, and especially the coasts which include beaches, estuaries, rivers, and large lakes.

We study rocks to learn about the materials that make up our Earth. The distribution and properties of these rocks give clues as to how they got there and the processes involved. Why study these things? The materials that we take out of the earth (oil, gas, metals, and other minerals) are vital to our way of life. Understanding where and how much of these resources we have is important in planning our future. Earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and hurricanes affect many of us at any moment. Understanding these processes will help to prepare for these events.

Learn more about Marine Geology at http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/pubinfo/margeol.html

Also, the Energy Resources Program does have a quarterly newsletter that we distribute that lists all our current publications and other areas of interest in our program. There is no charge for this newsletter registration. You can signup on-line for this newsletter at http://energy.usgs.gov/newsletter.html.

For additional information go to: http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/oilgas/noga/ (choose Williston/Bakken in the interactive map to see all available documents).

Soil Surveys published by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly the Soil Conservation Service, are available from several sources.

1. Some are available online from the NRCS website.
2. The public may view the surveys or borrow them through interlibrary loan from a public or organizational library.
3. Surveys may also be purchased from your state or local government.
4. The USGS Library in Reston, Virginia has a majority of the soil surveys in our collection, available to the public through interlibrary loan. Contact us through the Ask a Librarian form; include the county and state of interest, to obtain further information.

In summary, The ShakeOut Scenario estimates this earthquake will cause some 2,000 deaths, 50,000 injuries, $200 billion in damage and other losses, and severe, long-lasting disruption. The report has regional implications and is a dramatic call to action for preparedness. The Great Southern California ShakeOut is on track to being the largest earthquake drill in United States history.

Nearly 5 million people have signed-up to participate in the drill and you can too at www.shakeout.org. A copy of the full technical report, The ShakeOut Scenario, is available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1150. A non-technical summary narrative of the Scenario is online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1324.

Note the newly added Feature: USGS Educational Videos and Animations.

To cite the National Atlas, we suggest:

National Atlas of the United States, March 5, 2003, http://nationalatlas.gov

Use the date found on the bottom of the Raw Data Download page. For individual layers, we suggest a slightly different format. Include the author and the map layer title, and use the publication date for the individual map layer, i.e.

Chris Daly, Spatial Climate Analysis Service, September 2000, United States Average Annual Precipitation, 1961-1990, in National Atlas of the United States, http://nationalatlas.gov

For National Atlas articles, we suggest including the article title and date. If authors are credited at the end of an article, cite them and any originating publication as well:

Ecoregions of the United States, in National Atlas of the United States, January, 2005, http://nationalatlas.gov

Consumer-Driven Agriculture, in National Atlas of the United States, January, 2005, adapted from Ballenger, Nicole and Blaylock, James, USDA/ERS, April 2003, Consumer-Driven Agriculture: Amber Waves, Vol. 1, Issue 2.

This atlas is a series of USGS print publications (http://pubs.usgs.gov/ha/ha730/index.html) which describe the location, the extent, and the geologic and hydrologic characteristics of the important aquifers of the Nation. The series consists of 13 chapters which describe the regional ground-water resources that collectively cover 50 States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.