Field trip guidebooks are becoming increasingly more important as a source of information for the geoscientist. They often contain the only geological data on a particular geographic area. Many of them are listed in the selection tools mentioned above. Selectors should seek out and join a society devoted to professional librarians responsible for or having an interest in a particular discipline. Core lists of books and journals are useful for developing collections and prioritizing purchases.
Maps are a format particularly important to geoscientists.
However, for the selector, identifying new maps can be at times a formidable task. All of the selecting tools mentioned above do include geoscience maps. Catalogs of commercial map publishers and dealers need to be obtained and used as a selecting source. Periodical publications from map librarians' societies are also important selecting tools. Arizona Geology .