EOS: USGS Library Cuts Would Harm Research, Education

An austere US budget proposal targets education, research and programs that analyze climate change. “The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Library, home to one of the largest Earth and natural science collections in the world, faces a 52% funding decrease in the fiscal year (FY) 2018 federal budget proposed by President Donald Trump,” reports Kimberly M. S. Cartier for EOS Earth & Space Science News, published by the American Geophysical Union. The cuts would close branches, cut staff and end public and research access to collections. “The most important information to which geologists could lose access is ‘foundational’ materials, such as topographical maps, land use patterns, and historical records,” Cartier reports. Much of the library’s content is available from fewer than 10 libraries around the world, and if the cuts are approved, the agency would no longer maintain its online publication index. As writer Ray Bradbury noted, “Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future.” – YaleGlobal