Geoscience Information Society

• News releases from previous years

Contact Shaun Hardy  202-478-7960, hardy@dtm.ciw.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30, 2007

FORMER GEOREF DIRECTOR HONORED FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

The Geoscience Information Society's 2007 Mary B. Ansari Distinguished Service Award was presented on October 30 to John Mulvihill of Vienna, Virginia.  For twenty-five years Mulvihill directed the American Geological Institute's GeoRef Information System. GeoRef is the world's primary indexing service for earth science literature. 

Mulvihill assumed the leadership of GeoRef in 1974, after a decade of work with the Central Abstracting and Indexing Service of the American Petroleum Institute. Prior to that he held librarian positions at Astra Pharmaceutical Products in Worcester, Massachusetts and St. Benedict's College in Atchison, Kansas. At the American Geological Institute (AGI) Mulvihill dramatically expanded GeoRef's content and constituency. Its coverage was extended back to 1785 and by the time of his retirement in 1998 the database had grown to 2.1 million references in 40 languages.

Speaking for the Ansari Award Committee, Claren Kidd (University of Oklahoma Geology Librarian, emerita) stated "John's ability and foresight to develop GeoRef have had a profound influence upon the geoscience information community and the entire geoscience community." Mulvihill forged strong collegial links with members of the Geoscience Information Society (GSIS) and relied on librarians' input on GeoRef coverage and priorities, as well as for help in assessing its effectiveness. He served as president of GSIS in 1978 and worked with the Society in supporting international conferences on geoscience information. He also facilitated production of the Union List of Geologic Field Trip Guidebooks - a joint project of AGI and GSIS - in both print and online versions.

Sharon Tahirkheli, GeoRef's current director, added "John's dedication to information services and his deep understanding of the needs of the geoscientist resulted in his receiving the AGI William B. Heroy Award upon his retirement. This award, usually presented to geoscientists, was presented to John in recognition of his distinguished service to AGI and to the geoscience profession in general."

Since retiring from AGI Mulvihill has worked with the Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Library.

GSIS is an international professional organization devoted to improving the exchange of information in the earth sciences. The membership consists of librarians, editors, cartographers, educators, and information professionals. Information about the Society may be found at its website www.geoinfo.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30, 2007

2007 AWARDS FOR BEST GEOSCIENCE PUBLICATIONS PRESENTED IN DENVER 

Four outstanding earth science publications were recognized by the Geoscience Information Society at its October 30 awards ceremony, held in conjunction with the Geological Society of America’s annual meeting in Denver. 

Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, published by Elsevier in 2007, received the Mary B. Ansari Best Reference Work Award. Editor-in-chief Scott Elias (Royal Holloway, University of London) accepted the prize on behalf of more than 400 scientists from 28 countries who contributed to the publication. The Encyclopedia is a four-volume set that contains over 360 articles covering physical topics such as climate change, landforms, and Earth events of the past 2.6 million years, as well as topics in Quaternary life such as vertebrate records, insect fossils, and humans. The award citation from Janice Norris, chair of the selection committee, noted that the committee “found [the Encyclopedia] superior in the criteria used for evaluation including among others: uniqueness, comprehensiveness, quality of work, and illustrations. It should be useful to many disciplines in the environmental and geosciences.” The Ansari Award has been presented annually since 1988 and honors an outstanding reference work in the field of geoscience information published during the previous three years.

Lura E. Joseph, Associate Professor of Library Administration and Geology Librarian, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was awarded the GSIS Best Paper Award for her research article “Image and Figure Quality: A Study of Elsevier’s Earth and Planetary Sciences Electronic Journal Back File Package.” Joseph’s study examined more than 6000 journals issues published before electronic format was available and documented the incidence of unacceptable image quality in the scanned versions. “The implications of poor image quality in electronic journals should be considered when libraries are deciding whether to discard print copies,” Joseph cautioned. “Publishers and librarians should work together to ensure that print journals converted to digital format are of acceptable quality.” Her paper was published in the September-December 2006 issue of Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services. The award is given to the best professional paper in the field of geoscience information published during the previous year. 

Two recipients were chosen for this year’s Best Guidebook Award: Geology of the Chama Basin, published by the New Mexico Geological Society in 2005, and 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Centennial Field Guides, published by the Geological Society of America in 2006.

Geology of the Chama Basin was produced in conjunction with the New Mexico Geological Society’s 56th annual fall field conference in 2005 and was edited by Spencer G. Lucas (New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science), Kate E. Ziegler (University of New Mexico), Virgil W. Lueth (New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources), and Donald E. Owen (Lamar University). In announcing the award committee’s selection, chair Dorothy McGarry cited the excellence of the guidebook’s articles and their logical arrangement; the usefulness of the road log references; the inclusion of a clear stratigraphic column for the study area; and the abundance of captions, both on and below the numerous color photographs, that help readers visualize the various rock units described in the text and log. Dr. Owen was present to accept the award on behalf of his colleagues. 

1906 San Francisco Earthquake Centennial Field Guides was edited by Carol S. Prentice (U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park), Judith G. Scotchmoor (University of California Museum of Paleontology), Eldridge M. Moores (University of California, Davis, emeritus), and John P. Kiland (KPW Structural Engineers, Oakland, California). It is a guide to twenty-five field trips associated with the 100th Anniversary Conference in San Francisco in April 2006 and includes a wealth of historical information. Good maps, clear photographs, a glossary of terms, and the inclusion of GPS coordinates all contribute to the guide’s usefulness. “The guide points out problems that happen even now as a result of earthquakes,” the award citation noted. “It is likely to be become a classic.” Dr. Prentice thanked GSIS for honoring her and her co-editors with this year’s award.

The Geoscience Information Society is an international professional organization devoted to improving the exchange of information in the earth sciences. The membership consists of librarians, editors, cartographers, educators, and information professionals. Information about the Society may be found at its website www.geoinfo.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
November 30, 2007

OCEAN WORLD NAMED TOP GEOSCIENCE WEBSITE OF 2007

Ocean World (oceanworld.tamu.edu), a website developed and maintained by the Jason Education Project at Texas A&M University, has been awarded the 2007 Outstanding Website Award of the Geoscience Information Society (GSIS).  Robert Stewart, professor of oceanography at Texas A&M and head of the Ocean World “crew,” accepted the award at the Geological Society of America annual meeting in Denver on October 30.

“We chose this site because it had an impressive array of visuals, informative sections on an interesting variety of ocean-related topics as well easy and straightforward navigation,” commented Beth Roberts, chair of the Society’s selection committee.  The Outstanding Website Award has been presented by GSIS annually since 2002 to a site which exemplifies outstanding standards of content, design, organization, and overall site effectiveness.

Ocean World offers customized tracks for students and educators and an extensive section of resources.  It provides links to real-time oceanographic data ranging from coral reefs to icebergs and an innovative, problem-based, online textbook by Stewart, Our Ocean Planets: Oceanography in the 21^st Century.

Stewart has been at Texas A&M since 1989.  Prior to that he held research positions at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.  Among his principal research interests are improvement in the teaching of oceanography and the production of oceanographic teaching materials for elementary, middle, and high school students and teachers. 

The Geoscience Information Society is an international professional organization devoted to improving the exchange of information in the earth sciences.  The membership consists of librarians, editors, cartographers, educators, and information professionals. Information about the Society may be found at its website www.geoinfo.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
August 23, 2007

FREE SEMINAR ON GEOSCIENCE LIBRARIANSHIP SET FOR OCTOBER 27
 
A free, one-day seminar on geoscience librarianship will be presented by the Geoscience Information Society on Saturday, October 27, 2007 in Denver. Registration is open to all information professionals as well as students in library and information studies 
 
“Geoscience Librarianship 101” will provide participants with a basic understanding of earth
science information resources and their organization. Speakers include:

            Lisa Dunn, Colorado School of Mines Library
            Adonna Fleming, Love Library, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
            Andrea Twiss-Brooks, Science Libraries, University of Chicago
            Linda Zellmer, Geology Library, Indiana University
 
Topics slated for coverage include collection development, maps and geographic information systems, and reference and instructional services. There will be opportunities for networking during the lunch break, and a discussion period following the presentations. The
program is a mix of formal and informal modes with opportunity for “newbies” and prospective “newbies” to talk with experienced geoscience librarians. The seminar will also benefit librarians who want to refresh their understanding of geoscience information
 
The program is set for 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM in the Jerry B. Robinson Library Instruction Lab, Room 245, Auraria Library, 1100 Lawrence Street, Denver, Colorado. There is no charge for the seminar, but pre-registration is required. Owing to security regulations, no walk-ins will be admitted. Registrations must be received by October 2, 2007. To reserve your place or to request additional information, please contact Shaun Hardy, GSIS Publicity Officer, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road, NW, Washington, DC 20015, telephone 202-478-7960, e-mail hardy@dtm.ciw.edu.
 
The Geoscience Information Society is an international professional organization devoted to improving the exchange of information in the earth sciences. Information about the Society may be found at its website www.geoinfo.org. 
 
Support for “Geoscience Librarianship 101” is provided by the the Auraria Library and Springer Publishing.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2007

WARD HONORED FOR DISTINGUISHED PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

Geology librarian Dederick C. (Dedy) Ward of Anacortes, Washington was honored recently by the Geoscience Information Society (GSIS) for distinguished service to the profession.  In accepting the 2006 Mary B. Ansari Distinguished Service Award on Ward’s behalf at the Society’s Philadelphia meeting, Lura E. Joseph (Geology Librarian, University of Illinois) cited Ward’s extensive contributions to the professionalization of geoscience librarianship and his personal scholarship. 

Ward was one of the founding members of the Geoscience Information Society in 1965 and served as co-chair of the first International Conference on Geological Information, held in London in 1978.  The meeting brought together for the first time specialists who dealt in geoscientific information; 190 delegates from 17 countries participated.

He was author or co-author of three editions of Geologic Reference Sources published between 1967 and 1981.  The classic work helped educate generations of information specialists.  In 1984, together with Albert Carozzi, Ward published Geology Emerging, a catalog illustrating the history of geology through rare books held by the University of Illinois library.  His 1989 study of “Information-seeking behavior of geoscientists,” co-authored with Julie Bichteler, won the GSIS Best Paper Award the following year. 

Ward holds degrees in geology from Washington and Lee University and the University of Colorado and an MA in librarianship from the University of Denver.  In the 1960s and 1970s he served as Head of Science Libraries and Earth Science Librarian at the University of Colorado, Boulder.  In 1980 he moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as Geology Librarian and Associate Professor of Library Administration.  He retired from UIUC in 1989 to pursue another love, painting.  His art reflects his interest and background in geology.

Richard D. Walker, a long-time colleague, summarized:  “Dedy was always mindful of the role information played in the lives of both the working geoscientist and the geoscience information specialist and was always ready to act as the liaison between those professions.”

GSIS is an international professional organization devoted to improving the exchange of information in the earth sciences.  The membership consists of librarians, editors, cartographers, educators, and information professionals. Information about the Society may be found at its website www.geoinfo.org.

Felix Gradstein (University of Oslo) accepts the Mary B. Ansari Best Reference Work Award from the Geoscience Information Society for A Geologic Time Scale 2004.

Mick Kunk (USGS, Reston) accepts the Best Guidebook Award from selection committee chair Renee Davis.

Cathy Manduca (Carlton College) receives the Best Geoscience Paper Award from selection committee chair Rusty Kimball.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2007

VOLCANO WEBSITE GARNERS TOP HONORS FOR 2006

The Hero of Vesuvius, a website about the life and pioneering work of American volcanologist Frank Alvord Perret, garnered top honors recently at the Geoscience Information Society’s annual meeting in Philadelphia.  The richly-illustrated site, developed by science writer Tom Gidwitz of South Dartmouth, Massachusetts in conjunction with web designer Tucker Hood, received the 2006 Best Website Award from a selection committee composed of earth science librarians and information professionals.  The award was presented by Beth Roberts .

“Deeply researched, informative, well-written and illustrated, and simply but elegantly designed; it is a gem,” commented Lee Regan of the site, which offers visitors a vivid portrayal of the exciting and often dangerous study of volcanoes in the early 20th Century.  The Society’s reviewers praised the site’s unique and creative ways of displaying images and maps, such as its “floating scrapbook” feature.

A Stanford-educated journalist, Gidwitz has been writing about scientists and their research for over ten years.  He is a contributing editor for Archaeology magazine and the author of The Story in the Stone, a children’s book about the Smithsonian Institution’s Panama Paleontology Project, which examines how fossils are teaching scientists how plate tectonics built the Isthmus of Panama.  He previously served as editor of Currents, the members’ quarterly magazine of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 

In accepting the award, Gidwitz stated of his work:  “My objective has been to make technically difficult subjects understandable and absorbing to lay readers, and to shed light on what drives these men and women to tenaciously pursue the mysteries of their field.” 

The Hero of Vesuvius is online at www.vesuvius.tomgidwitz.com.

The Geoscience Information Society is an international professional organization devoted to improving the exchange of information in the earth sciences.  The membership consists of librarians, editors, cartographers, educators, and information professionals. Information about the Society may be found at its website www.geoinfo.org.