The Bibliography on Cold Regions Science & Technology Has Been Sponsored by the U

The Bibliography on Cold Regions Science & Technology has been sponsored by the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), Hanover, NH and its predecessor the Snow, Ice, & Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE) since 1951. In 2000, the Bibliography on Cold Regions Science & Technology, after 50 years of production by the Library of Congress, was transitioned to preparation by the American Geological Institute (AGI). The bibliography contains over 270,000 citations and includes reports, monographs, serials, CD-ROM, web sites, patents, maps, translations, and including a broad range of gray literature frequently not indexed anywhere else in the world.

Materials indexed are from the far reaches of the world and represents more than 65 languages. The actual documents indexed in the bibliography reside at the CRREL library either in microfiche or paper copy. The Bibliography is accessible by students, researchers, and the general pubic for free at http://www/coldregions.org The bibliography has spanned the technology abyss for 57 years, from a traditional paper copy bibliography to a web-based resource. A commercial online database version, Arctic and Antarctic Regions, is available from the NISC Corporation, Baltimore, MD, http://biblioline.nisc.com. The Arctic and Antarctic Regions database includes other arctic & Antarctic databases but requires a subscription charge.

In 2000, with the change of producers, the National Science Foundation became co- sponsors with the Cold Regions Research Laboratory, Hanover, NH of the Bibliography on Cold Regions Science & Technology. Users span the interests and locations of the world. We have PHD candidates, educators, private contractors, government officials, scientific researchers and the general public searching questions from how to protect fruit in Florida during a freeze to the similarities of Mars and the cold regions of the Earth.

7000 citations on average are added yearly to the Bibliography on Cold Regions Science & Technology, reflecting the constantly growing body of literature relating to polar subjects. The usage statistics for the Bibliography from September to December 2004 were 95,464 individual visitors. Full-text delivery of citations would be available primarily from the GeoRef Document Delivery System, American Geological Institute on a full cost recovery basis. However, the CRREL Library in Hanover, NH will provide materials in smaller numbers. The CRREL library is available, with prior arrangement, for US citizens to visit. The library also provides inter-library loan services from library to library. The CRREL library has microfiche copies of every item indexed in the Bibliography through 2000. Many recent materials are available digitally and the links are indicted in the Bibliography reference.

The CRREL Library contains the most comprehensive science & technical collection of materials in the world including a separate online catalog http://libweb.erdc.usace.army.mil. The material in the library, in addition to the “cold” collection, includes many resources on the periphery of polar science & engineering, environmental impact, climate change and hydrology. The collection includes books, technical reports, maps, and serial publications numbering more than 100,000 items. The CRREL Library continues to provide about 50% of the publications cited in the Bibliography and maintains the focus of the bibliography on the needs and current interests of the U.S. Army and CRREL’s research staff. It is the hope of CRREL and NSF that research institutes and academia will continue to collaborate and hopefully expand their involvement in supporting this information tool. Documents that have been forwarded to the National Science Foundation or to CRREL in the past may continue to be sent to us or more directly to AGI for inclusion in the Bibliography. The Bibliography is an international treasure and without the support of the research and scientific communities, the struggle to be comprehensive will never be conquered. For more information please contact Sharon Tahirkekheli, AGI, 703-379-2480, or Nancy Liston, CRREL, 603-6464221