The USGS has recently joined the Biodiversity Heritage Library and has begun digitizing books from its collections to contribute to the BHL. It has scanned several rare and historic books covering topics in paleobotany, biology, and geology. The USGS hopes to become a valued long-term partner in the BHL by contributing its collections and technical expertise in geospatial data. It looks forward to supporting new capabilities and initiatives to improve access to biodiversity literature.

1. BHL Institutional Council Member Report
United States Geological Survey
March 2012
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
Richard Huffine, Library Director
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2. Brief History of Engagement
 Joined the BHL in November 2011
 Attended the Life and Literature Conference
 Met with Smithsonian-based BHL staff
 Acquired Digitization Equipment
 ScanPro 2000 – Microfilm/Microfiche
 Minolta PS 7000C MKII Color Book Scanner
 Scanned some sample material
 Currently trying to load using Macaw
 Submitted 6 books through Smithsonian
IA contract
 Load completed 3/14/2012
Image from Holbrooks Herpetology, 1841. Already
scanned and available in the BHL.
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3. Highlights
 The USGS is excited to contribute to BHL, both
in content and capability, including:
 Strong collections in paleobotany and other
scientific studies previously not included in the BHL
 Accessible collections that have been considered
too rare for other institutions to scan
 Skills in geographic and geospatial technology that
could improve the utility of BHL from place-based
perspectives
 Interest in connecting biological and earth science
research to improve understanding of the
connections between geology, mineralogy, natural
hazards and ecosystems
Image from Botany, 1839. Scanned by USGS and
waiting to load into the BHL.
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4. Accomplishments to Date
 We are scanning
 If we can get the Macaw service to work for us,
we can add rare materials from our collection at a
pretty good pace
 We are identifying collections
 We are reviewing our current inventories in
biology, paleobotany, etc. and identifying
materials that can be scanned
 We are building our capacity
 USGS staff have begun to appreciate the time
and attention required to contribute to this effort
and they are excited about the opportunity
Image from Die Alpenpflanzen (1879-1884). Scanned
by USGS and waiting to load into the BHL.
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5. Related Activities
 USGS has scanned over 75% of its’ published
catalog
 Also collecting citations for USGS-authored works
to represent USGS contributions to science
 Scanning is continuing as funds are identified
 Developing a Fedora Commons repository
 Also providing MODS Web Services and custom
RSS feeds for interaction with the current system
 Recently released over 150,000 historic
topographic maps in geoPDF format
 Producing 55,000 current topographic maps for
the continental U.S. every 3 years
Image from Botanical Atlas: Phanerogams& Cryptogams
(1883). Scanned by USGS and waiting to load into the BHL.
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6. Looking Forward
 The USGS is looking forward to becoming a
valued partner in the next phase of the BHL
 We hope to bring breadth, depth, energy and
enthusiasm to the project
 We look forward to supporting efforts to
improve on the current capabilities and
explore new ideas
 We appreciate the opportunity to contribute
to this valuable effort
 We value the opportunity to partner with
such esteemed institutions
USGS personnel preparing material for scanning.
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7. Highlights
 IA has scanned the first 5 books of about 250 titles
currently on loan from USGS to Smithsonian Paleobotany
 Observations on fossil vegetables accompanied by
representations of their internal structure as seen through the
microscope (1831)
 Die Dendrolithen in Beziehung auf ihreninnerenBau :
mitzwanizigSteindrucktafeln (1832)
 The internal structure of fossil vegetables found in the
carboniferous and oolitic deposits of Great Britain (1833)
 Die PflanzenweltvordemErscheinen des Menschen (1881)
 As well as a lovely 1845 volume of:
 American wild flowers in their native haunts
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8. Highlights
 On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants (1865)
 1stedition of a work by Charles Darwin. A little research revealed it
to be the first published edition of a paper that wasn’t published in
book form until 1875.
 Die Alpenpflanzen (1879-1884)
 This beautiful set was “rediscovered” in our general collection.
Each of the four volumes contains 100 full-color plates illustrating
the flowers of the Alps. The color variation on the pages is natural,
possibly chosen intentionally to accent the color of each flower.
 Botanical Atlas: Phanerogams&Cryptogams (1883)
 “Phanerogams” (vol. 1) was pulled from our general collection.
We discovered it was the first of two volumes, but we didn’t have
the other half. Unable to resist completing the set, we found and
ordered “Cryptogams” from a bookseller in England. We found
out that the first volume was published in New York by one
publisher and the second in Edinborough, by another.
Images of materials scanned by USGS
and waiting to load into the BHL.
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9. Highlights
 Flora Virginica(1762)
 This 250 year old book
describes the flora of Virginia
fourteen years before the
Declaration of Independence
was written.
 With deeply creased pages
and faded text (in Latin),
digitizing this book was a
challenge. We improvised,
using felt and foam padding to
make a jigsaw puzzle of
support for each page.
Image from Flora Virginica (1762) and photograph of USGS
personnel working with the book during digitization.
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10. Contacts
 Richard Huffine, Library Director
703-648-7182
rhuffine@usgs.gov
 Helen Tong, Digital Services Manager
703-648-7182
htong@usgs.gov
 Jenna Nolt, Digital Services Lead Developer
(703) 648-6209
jnolt@usgs.gov
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