Great Basin Science Sample and Records Library

You can help support the GBSSRL

The University of Nevada, Reno built the Great Basin Science Sample and Records Library at 2175 Raggio Parkway. The building, which opened to the public in April 2009, is managed by and houses the Information and Publication Sales Office of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. It includes the office of the Geological Society of Nevada and has storage space for their publications and those of the Nevada Petroleum Society. The primary purpose of the building is to preserve geoscience data and samples, which have been collected at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars by local, state, and federal agencies and the private sector. Among the applications of these data and samples that are most relevant to Nevadans are:

--economic development, particularly regarding mineral and energy resources;
--assessment of ground-water resources and water-quality protection;
--minimization of environmental impacts from land disturbance;
--and management in areas of potential mineral and energy resource extraction and urban growth;
--evaluation of natural hazards, particularly earthquakes, landslides, and floods;
--long-term monitoring of waste disposal sites and ground impacted by nuclear explosions; and
--improvement of the scientific knowledge of Earth processes and expansion of research opportunities.

Samples to be housed in the building include cores and cuttings from deep wells drilled in Nevada, primarily during exploration for oil, geothermal, mineral, and water resources but also for other projects; representative samples of ore and rock types from mines; thesis, dissertation, and research collections; and museum-quality specimens for which there is not enough display space in the W.M. Keck Museum of the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering on the UNR campus. Paper records and digital data, including the Jay A. Carpenter Mining District Files, will also be part of the facility. Our vision is that, in a few years, all our paper information (NBMG maps, reports, bulletins, and open-file reports; one-of-a-kind and rare documents in file cabinets; paper records from oil and gas and geothermal wells; geological reports donated by consultants and industry representatives; aerial photographs; etc.) will be made free to the public on the Web.

The National Research Council highlighted the need for facilities to preserve critical geoscience data and samples in its 2002 report on Geoscience Collections and Data: National Resources in Peril. Congress allocated $3.465 million for the Library in the appropriations for the Department of Energy in fiscal year 2006. Those funds are paying for the building and most of the interior shelving and necessary furnishings. We need additional donations, either of money or items, to complete the facility. Specifically, we need help with the following:

ITEMS FOR ROCK PREPARATION ROOM
--Large rock saw (new style), with extra blades - $9,500
--18" rock saw with extra blades - $3,500
--Trim saw/core saw, 14", with extra blade - $3,300
--Electric hydraulic core splitter - $8,500
--Flat 20" vibrating lap for polishing slabs (with additional pans) - $1,000

ITEMS FOR PUBLIC AREA
Server(s) for Information Office Website - $20,000 for two servers

Donations can be made to the University of Nevada, Reno Foundation, Director of Development, College of Science/Mail Stop 0424, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557-0424; Telephone: (775) 682-8791. For more information, please contact Jim Faulds, State Geologist and Director, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Telephone: 775-682-6650; E-mail: jfaulds@unr.edu.