a natural resource — the collection of the Illinois state water survey library

marcia e. nelson
head librarian
illinois state water survey
champaign, illinois

The Illinois State Water Survey, a division of the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources, issued its first technical report in 1897, entitled Chemical Survey of the Water Supplies of lllinois.¹ Early concern of the agency with contaminated water resulting in cholera and typhoid fever led to this chemical analysis of the state's water supply to determine its "purity and wholesomeness." Today the Illinois State Water Survey is the primary agency in Illinois concerned with water and atmospheric resources. Its research and service programs encompass such topics as: climate information for agribusiness, severe rainstorm research, urban runoff, toxicity monitoring in aquatic systems, groundwater contamination, sediment monitoring, and precipitation chemistry.

The library seeks to play an integral role in the research and service efforts of the staff. This provision of research support is based partially on the acquisition and utilization of the collection, currently estimated to be 25,000 volumes. Periodical subscriptions number approximately 450. Our selection policy is based on a goal of building a working collection, or one geared to the immediate research interests of the staff. The enormity of the relevant material available in the field of water resources precludes any thought of comprehensiveness. Additionally, the librarians have built the collection with recognition of the fact that the Illinois State Water Survey is situated on the campus of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and has full access to the resources of the university library.

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The Illinois State Water Survey has six scientific sections whose names reflect the research interests of the institution and the subject content of the library: aquatic chemistry, atmospheric chemistry, climatology and meteorology, groundwater, surface water, and water quality. There is an emphasis on studies pertaining to Illinois water resources, particularly with respect to data and historical documents. However, the collection is not geographically limited as it supports wide-ranging basic and applied research. The acquisitions emphases have shifted over the years as the research interests of the institution have changed. We order items primarily upon request and the state and contract funds for library materials come from the sections and units rather than being allocated through a library budget. These factors do not necessarily lead to a subject-balanced collection which one could argue is a weakness or alternatively an indication of the responsiveness of the collection builders to the needs of the staff. We maintain an archives of Illinois State Water Survey documents and other publications by survey staff.

The items in the collection fall into the following basic categories: technical reports, texts, data compilations, maps, journals, newsletters, and vertical file material. The collection is a growing one, with an acquisitions rate in recent years averaging 1,500 items annually. The majority of the items are acquired at no charge, frequently from federal, state, and local government agencies and universities. As the economic climate shifts, however, the percentage of items acquired without charge has decreased from 87 percent in fiscal year 1975/76 to 78 percent in 1982/83. One would expect that trend to continue.

The major portion of the collection is housed at the Illinois State Water Survey's primary facility in Champaign, the Water Resources Building on the University of Illinois campus. Smaller collections are housed in Water Survey facilities in Peoria and Batavia. The Peoria collection supports the work of the Water Quality Section which is located in Peoria and the Batavia collection aids hydrologists in that office in their provision of information to residents of northeastern Illinois. Both are maintained by the librarians in Champaign who provide technical and public services for these collections, working with a liaison at each facility. The card catalog in Champaign is a union catalog for the three collections. In addition, separate catalogs are maintained in the Peoria and Batavia libraries.

Access to the collection of monographs (reports and texts) is provided through the card catalog, as all of the above are fully cataloged. Control of perodicals is provided by a manual check-in system supplemented by an automated journal routing system. Cataloging is done internally. The Thesaurus of Engineering and Scientific Terms² is the source for subject headings. The collection is classified by Dewey and UDC. Since most technical reports are issued in series, preference is given to classification by series and main entry selection of corporate author. Thus, one will find reports issued in series by an agency such as the Environmental Protection Agency or National Climatic Center located together on the shelf. One of the strengths of the collection is the full access to technical reports and conference proceedings, items somewhat difficult to locate in some libraries. Journals and newslettes are shelved alphabetically. Back issues of essential titles are maintained, whereas we are limited by space to a shorter retention time for titles of lesser importance.

Early history of the library is not well documented, but there is evidence to suggest that increased attention to the need for bibliographic control was provided in the mid-1950s with the hiring of a professional librarian. At this time several personal or section collections were consolidated, the library was reorganized to a decimal filing system and the provision of services, disconcertingly familiar to those offered today, was begun. Separate collections were still maintained at the Peoria Laboratory and at the Meteorology Laboratory at the University of Illinois airport. Preceding this period of organization, a portion of the collection was housed, along with the remainder of the Water Survey, in Noyes Laboratory at the University of Illinois. It was kept in a locked room, with periodic attempts at organization.

Today the librarians have attempted to enhance access to the collection through membership in Lincoln Trail Libraries System, cooperation with University of Illinois librarians, and participation in professional organizations. Although the collection is used primarily by Illinois State Water Survey staff, it is frequently used by University of Illinois faculty and students. The collection is open to all citizens of the state and requests by telephone or letter will be answered. Material is circulated in-person or through standard interlibrary loan procedures. The library is open from 8:00-12:00 and 1:00-5:00 M-F. lt is currently staffed by two professional and two clerical employees.

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The Illinois State Water Survey Library collection is part of the information resource provided to employees of the agency. Additionally, services include extensive SDI work, on-line literature searching, bibliography preparation, reference, interlibrary loan, translation service, and information storage and retrieval consultation. The library collection is a resource for the citizens of Illinois as well. The study of the water resources of the state, in both the hydrosphere and the atmosphere, continue to be essential in the wise management of our natural resources.

Footnotes

1.    Arthur William Palmer. 1897. Chemical Survey of the Water Supplies of Illinois, Urbana, IL: University of Illinois, p. 8.

2.    Thesaurus of Engineering and Scientific Terms. 1967. United States Department of Defense.

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