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Geology 380 Information Competency Assignment #1
Objectives and Learning outcomes
 | Use Pollak Library’s OPAC and/or print
or online indexes to locate maps in the Library |
| Create lists of relevant maps (geologic,
topographic, resource, etc.) |
| Locate the maps in Pollak Library |
| Learn where to make copies of maps and
other resources |
| Use the web to locate map resources –
both free and for-purchase maps |
Assignment
This assignment will be
part of a series of assignments and activities designed to introduce you to
MAPS. Throughout this course you
will be making, studying, interpreting, and presenting maps in various forms.
The tasks in this assignment build on our earlier assignments and
discussions of various map types, which include geologic, topographic, landslide
and hazard maps, faults maps, etc. Generally,
before you make a new map of an area, you will want to perform map searches via
library data bases and map resources on the web.
Many maps are accessible from the web through government agencies like
the United Stated Geologic Survey and California Division of Mines and Geology.
Task #1
Your first task in doing
background map research is to see what resources are already available.
In other words, has an area already been worked on, or are there other
nearby areas that might guide your work? For
this task, you will be divided into groups of 2 or 3 working to find a set of
maps for an area-- Armstrong will designate an area for you.
| Using the Maps
Guide put
together by the Pollak Library personnel:
 | Use the Library’s
online public access catalog (OPAC) to track down some potential maps
for your area.
You will want to make use of key words in Keyword
in
Title/Subject/Contents part of OPAC to refine searches.
For example, for the Joshua Tree regions, you will want to
include “Joshua Tree” and “geology maps” for search for geologic
maps of the area – see the Maps Guide. |
| Also
consult print indexes specified by the handout, such as the California Index to Topographic and Other Map Coverage, or older years of Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey, in order to identify other maps that the Pollak
Library may own in collections that may not be cataloged individually. |
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| You will need to write down
the pertinent information such as call number, where map is located, etc. |
| Locate
at least two (2) maps in the map collections using the call numbers from the
OPAC search. Most of these maps
will be “non-circulating” – meaning you can’t check them out.
Some of these maps may be in the flat map cases and some may be in the
government documents (California and US), as well as other places. |
| You will
want (1) to copy enough of one of the maps to allow you to describe its
geology [see below] and (2) to copy the title area of one other map to turn
in. Locate the copy room in the
library (MAP)
and make copies – for full map copy, you will need to copy map in pieces,
then tape together. |
| Write
one paragraph that describes the general geology of the map – i.e.,
dominant rock types, major faults, types of structures, etc. |
Task #2:
In Task #2, you are to find
a map for your area using the Web. You
are to work independently on this part of the project, but retain the map area
from Task #1. Here’s what you
should do:
| Using a Web search engine (Google,
Yahoo, Altavista, etc), search for maps for your area. You will want to limit your search to maps from
reputable map agencies like the United States Geologic Survey (USGS)
and California Division of Mines and Geology (CDMG).
Also link to "Documents" page of this
web to see a list of some major government departments and agencies
that produce various maps. |
When you find acceptable maps that are pertinent
to the geologic investigation of your are, print out the page that shows where
to get the map and the URL. If the
maps are downloadable and free, then download the map and print a portion of it.
If the map is not free, make sure you get the information on how to
purchase the map, as well as how much it costs.
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