Welcome to the largest earth science library in the world! Established in 1879 to build and organize a collection of scientific materials in the earth sciences, the U.S. Geological Survey Library is now the largest library for earth sciences in the world. The Libraries Program includes four central libraries and is part of Core Science Systems within the USGS.

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Book Containing Images of the Tavernier Blue (Hope Diamond) Available Online A book containing the earliest known images of the Tavernier Blue diamond later called the French Blue and now known as the Hope Diamond is now available online. The USGS Libraries have recently digitized a first English edition of “The … Continue reading → Panoramic Photography of the Alaskan Frontier 1910-1932 The USGS houses many stunning photographs depicting early American landscapes and researchers at work in the field. Unlike today’s world, filled with images from smart phones, photography in the late 1800′s and early 1900′s photography was a much more difficult … Continue reading → USGS Libraries Contribute to the Biodiversity Heritage Library The USGS Libraries Program has joined the Biodiversity Heritage Library, a consortium of natural history and botanical libraries that cooperate to digitize and make accessible the legacy literature of biodiversity held in their collections. USGS Libraries have collections that can … Continue reading → The Francillon Memo One of the most unique and important articles in the USGS Libraries collections is a document called the Francillon Memo. This simple memo was written in September of 1812 by John Francillon, a jeweler practicing in London, England. The Francillon … Continue reading → USGS Publishes Afghanistan Research USGS projects in Afghanistan have produced a substantial number of publications, maps, and other documents. Extensive research by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Afghan Geological Survey, and the Department of Defense has yielded volumes of information about areas of high … Continue reading →