Geology Librarianship

Abstract

Current trends and challenges in geology librarianship are influenced by driving forces such as the exponential increase in knowledge, the interdisciplinary nature of sciences, specialization of disciplines, space and budget constraints, and user expectations. The current trend toward a digital environment affects all areas of librarianship including collection development, current awareness, reference, instruction, preservation, dissemination of information, legislation and copyright law. Although the future role of librarianship may appear murky, science librarians will almost certainly continue to function as information specialists who reach across disciplinary boundaries to find related information. They will continue to prepare users for a lifetime of learning, work to standardize the various electronic resources, and ensure that knowledge is preserved in some format. This article provides an overview of the current state of geology librarianship. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <docdelivery@haworthpress. com> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com>