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Welcome to the largest earth science library in the world! Established in 1879 to build and organize a collection of scientific materials in the earth sciences, the U.S. Geological Survey Library is now the largest library for earth sciences in the world. The Libraries Program includes four central libraries and is part of Core Science Systems within the USGS.

Featured Stories

The Francillon Memo One of the most unique and important articles in the USGS Libraries collections is a document called the Francillon Memo. This simple memo was written in September of 1812 by John Francillon, a jeweler practicing in London, England. The Francillon … Continue reading → USGS Publishes Afghanistan Research USGS projects in Afghanistan have produced a substantial number of publications, maps, and other documents. Extensive research by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Afghan Geological Survey, and the Department of Defense has yielded volumes of information about areas of high … Continue reading → USGS Field Records Collection in Denver, Colorado The USGS Field Records Collection in Denver, Colorado is an archive of unpublished field notes, annotated maps, sketches, correspondence, analysis reports, and other data created or collected by more than 1200 USGS scientists during field studies and exploration of the … Continue reading → USGS Photographic Library The USGS Photographic Library in Denver, Colorado is an archive of still photographs and original sketches dating from the 1870′s and taken by USGS scientists as part of their field studies. Topics include USGS personnel, earthquakes, volcanoes, geologic hazards and … Continue reading → Flagstaff Library Welcome to the USGS Library in Flagstaff, Arizona. Our library serves both USGS personnel and visiting researchers and members of the public. Our collections are focused primarily on astrogeology – a planetary science discipline concerned with the geology of the … Continue reading →