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Subject Level Collection Statement
Geological Sciences
Purpose statement
The Information Resources policy outlines the overarching principles and general framework which informs the
strategies and procedures related to the Library’s information resources. This subject level collection statement is
used to develop the collection and to inform the acquisition of new resources and, where appropriate, withdrawals
from the collection.
The Library’s collection supports the learning, teaching and research needs of scholars in the Department of
Geological Sciences and their associated researchers in other departments and research centres. The department
has a large number of postgraduate student researchers and attracts postgraduate students from around the world.
Degrees offered by the department are in Geology, the Environmental Sciences, Engineering Geology, and Hazard
and Disaster Management.
The Library needs to maintain a research-level collection as the Geological Sciences are research-intensive
disciplines. Current research interests include environmental geochemistry, active tectonics and landscape
evolution, climate change research, geological hazards, hazard and disaster management, basin analysis,
engineering geology and applied hydrogeology, glacial geology and geomorphology, volcanic geology of the Taupo
Volcanic Zone and Banks Peninsula, continental extensional tectonics, ecology and evolution of NZ and other
Southern Hemisphere fossil biotas, near surface geophysical applications, geoarchaeology and forensic geology.
Postgraduate students work with staff or groups of staff, senior fellows and research associates within and outside
the Department. There is also significant collaboration with externally funded organisations.
The following research centres use geological sciences information resources: the Natural Hazards Research Centre,
UC Quake Centre, the Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management, Gateway Antarctica and the UCR3 Centre for
Risk, Resilience and Renewal.
Scope
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The Library purchases items classified across the entire QE range and also purchases some items that cross
over with items that are usually classified in physical geography, glaciology, evolutionary biology, physics,
chemistry and palaeoclimatology.
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Regional geologies from the entire circum-Pacific Area, including Antarctica, are collected, and regional
Geologies from other areas should be considered carefully for their relevance to research interests.
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Reports, bulletins, occasional papers, and other publications in series produced by geological organizations,
national geological surveys, and professional societies in the geosciences are priorities for selection.
History of the collection
The Department has a long history dating back to 1876 when Sir Julius von Haast was appointed the first
Professor. The Library has inherited a number of books from the original departmental library including works by the
founders of the discipline.
The geological sciences print materials are currently held in the EPS Library. A large number of non-current serials
and monographs are held within the Ilam campus storage facilities and can be made available on request. The
majority of the journals the Library holds are now accessed online.
There has been a rapid growth in the publication of electronic books and also in the conversion of past print books
and journals into electronic format.
Language
Items are currently selected in English, as this is the language of instruction. Material in other languages will be
considered where appropriate to support learning, teaching and research, particularly when requested by a library
user.
Format
The Library collects resources in any format that meets the service obligations and operational capabilities of the
Library, its users and the information technology infrastructure of the University.
Specialised encyclopaedias, handbooks and dictionaries are most accessible to staff and students if they are
purchased in an online format.
Conference proceedings, audiovisual materials, non-Canterbury theses and dissertations are collected selectively
or when requested by a library user.
Collection Strengths
The Geological Sciences need to maintain a research level collection to support the range of research programmes
offered by the department and associated research centres.
The library seeks to particularly collect and retain any material related to the research programmes listed above.
Past collections of Antarctic and Australian geology, reports of past volcanic and earthquake events, records of New
Zealand geology fossil biotas, and climate change items will all be retained, as they contain original data not easily
retained or replaced from elsewhere.
Special care will be made to retain items regardless of usage and date which fall into the following categories:
• Geological publications about New Zealand
• Reports published by New Zealand geological institutions past or present
These New Zealand items will be retained, as they may contain original data in the form of tables, figures or maps.
These data can be useful for a later generation of researchers, who may wish to use it for comparative purposes or
they may wish to rework the data for new research.
LC classification numbers
All categories need to collected to a research level
HD
Emergency Management
GB2401-GB2598
Glaciers
GB5014
Natural Disasters
Subject Level Collection Statement: Geological Sciences
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All categories need to collected to a research level
Q1-Q390
Science - general
QC1 - QC75
Physics - general
QC801-QC809
Geophysics
QC809
Resistivity
QC811-QC849
Geomagnetism
QC851-QC999
Meteorology, climatology, and paleoclimatology
QD 446.2
Stable Isotopes
QE1-QE996.5
Geology
QE26-QE28
General works, treatises, and advanced textbooks
QE28.2
Physical geology
QE28.3
Historical geology
QE38
Environmental geology
QE39
Marine geology
QE39.5.
Palaeoceanography, palaeohydrology, palaeolimnology
QE348.2
New Zealand
QE350
Antarctica
HD
Emergency Management
QE351-QE399
Mineralogy
QE420
Petrology
QE434
Rocks – analysis – microscopic
QE438
Rocks - analysis - chemical
QE461
Igneous rocks, volcanic ash, tuff etc
QE471-QE471.15
Sedimentary rocks, sedimentology
QE472
Sedimentary structures
QE475
Metamorphism
QE499
Dynamic & structural geology: Physical & tectonic
QE508
Earth age, dating
QE511
Earth’s crust, isostasy
QE511.4-QE511.48
Plate tectonics, subduction zones
Subject Level Collection Statement: Geological Sciences
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All categories need to collected to a research level
QE5514-QE516.5
Geochemistry
QE521-QE528
Volcanoes & earthquakes
QE521.3
Volcanoes & volcanism
QE527.56
Tephrochronology
QE531-QE541
Earthquakes, seismology
QE599.2
Landslide hazard analysis
QE601-QE613.5
Structural geology, geotectonics,
QE605-QE606
Joints & cleavages; faults & folds
QE621
Orogeny
QE640-QE699
Stratigraphic
QE701-QE996.5
Paleontology
QE719
Micropaleontology
QE720
Paleoecology
QES590-QE599.9
Soils
Journals
Journal articles are the information source of highest priority for the Geological Sciences. The journal
collection is monitored to ensure that it remains relevant to current interests and within budget guidelines.
New journals are also assessed regularly for their possible relevance.
The Library subscribes to 19 out of the 20 of journals with the highest impact factor in Geology and also
subscribes to 20 out of the 20 of journals with the highest impact factor in Multidisciplinary Geosciences.
Abstracting and indexing databases
The multidisciplinary databases Scopus and Web of Science provide excellent access to most publications
in the geological and associated sciences.
Specialised databases or electronic resources
GeoRef is recognised as the standard database for all geological information sources, including New
Zealand sources from 1933. Topics covered include geophysics and structural geology, economic geology,
minerals and petroleum, palaeontology and stratigraphy, engineering and environmental geology,
geomorphology, soils and quaternary geology, igneous and metamorphic petrology, hydrogeology,
geochemistry, aerial geology and maps.
Full-text online journal collections of great use to Geologists are:
Subject Level Collection Statement: Geological Sciences
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GeoScienceWorld
Elsevier (ScienceDirect)
Springer
Wiley-Blackwells
Cambridge
Science
Nature
Notable online reference works include the Encyclopedia of Geology, Encylopedia of Quaternary
Studies, Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards, Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics, Encyclopedia of
Geochemistry and Treatise on Geomorphology.
Research Repository
As the Geological Sciences is a field-based science, the data collected in geological maps and figures
contained within the University of Canterbury research repository are valuable to present and future
researchers.
Duplication statement - textbooks and course readings
The formula for purchasing multiple copies for classes is one copy per 40 students.
Selection tools
Gobi, Amazon, and GeoRef and Geological society’s websites are tools used for the identification of relevant
material.
This document was agreed by
Name of Liaison Librarian: Alison Johnston ________________________________
Signature of Liaison Librarian: _
___________
Name of Library Liaison Officer: _Kari N. Bassett___________________________
Signature of Library Liaison Officer ______
___________________
Date agreed: 3 September 2014
Date for next review: 3 September 2016
Subject Level Collection Statement: Geological Sciences
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