Geoscience Data and Collections: National Resources in Peril (2002)

Please note that we aim to ask a uniform set of questions of all facilities. The use of the word “thing” is one attempt to make the list of questions universally applicable!

1. Size.

   1. How many [things] are in the collection? (Whatever unit of measurement you use: perhaps number, volume, area, etc).

   2. How do you evaluate your holdings?

   3. How fast is the collection growing?

   4. How much more space is available? How much total space existed in the first place?

   5. Have you lost any holdings due to disasters (i.e. flooding, fire, etc)?

2. Usage.

   1. What sorts of people use the [things] in a given period of time? What for?

   2. How many people use the [things] in a given period of time?

      For example, How many people used the catalog?

      How many people used specimens?

      How many people requested data?

   3. What is the long-term trend in usage of your holdings, and does this differ between individual data types?

   4. Can you provide any notable examples of people using your holdings for purposes other than those they were initially collected for?

   5. What might encourage greater use of your holdings?

3. Accessibility.

   1. Are all of the [things] accessible at any given point in time?

   2. How do patrons get access to your data?

   3. Could you provide sample catalog entries for your specimens and for your data.

   4. How do you prioritize your cataloging?

4. Data Management.

   1. What transcription programs do you have for your data at present?

      For example: Digitizing hardcopy records:

      Copying from one electronic medium to another:

      Re-formatting data:

5. Accession/de-accession.

   1. Who is giving you material?

   2. What are your accession/de-accession protocols?

   3. What data standards (of any kind) do you use?

   4. Do you de-accession? How much? How many things have you de-accessioned in the past 12 months?

   5. Do you consider PR issues when material is discarded? How do you protect yourself?

6. Costs.

   1. How much does it cost to maintain the collection and keep it accessible?

   2. What are the cost drivers in your environment?

   3. What criteria would you use to evaluate “scientific” or “commercial” value of data you hold or data that is offered to you?

   4. User fees: are they employed, or considered? If not, why not?

7. Managerial/Budgetary Issues.

   1. What are the main managerial/budgetary issues?

   2. How is success/failure defined with regards to managerial and budgetary issues?

8. Control of Holdings.

   1. Would you want to maintain control of your [things],

or would you be willing to have them managed by others (i.e. externally)? Why or why not?

2. Please outline any collaborations that have worked well with other institutions/agencies?

9. Questions for State Geological Surveys only.

   1. How does your state benefit from your holdings? Can you give a specific example or anecdote?

   2. How would your state benefit from holdings you would like to have?

   3. Are there economic opportunities lost or public safety risks where data would have been useful?

Thank you.