The A-Z Water Resources Resource

What kind of amphibian weighs between 31 and 99 pounds and can be purchased in Wisconsin?

That’s one of the strangest questions JoAnn Savoy has had to answer in her ten years as special librarian at the Wisconsin Water Resources Library.

“It was some kind of salamander, if I remember correctly,” she said.

The Water Resources Library offers a “Ready Reference” function, giving users the convenience of being able to submit reference questions online or by phone.

“Most questions are requests for documents or help finding information,” said Savoy. Others, like the one above, are submitted by students looking for information for a science project, or teachers looking for curriculum guides.

The Water Resources Library, established in 1964, contains almost 30,000 volumes of water-related information. Library patrons include UW-Madison faculty, staff, and students; K-12 teachers; private consultants; and state agency personnel. Sea Grant researchers and advisory personnel may find the library especially useful.

The collection offers information on almost every topic related to water resources, with a particular emphasis on issues concerning Wisconsin and the Great Lakes, including groundwater protection, wetlands restoration, and the impacts of agricultural chemicals. The library also contains publications from other state Water Resources Research Institutes across the country.

The library, which is funded by the university, U.S. Geological Survey, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, is associated with the UW-Madison libraries--an association that offers many advantages for users. A new service, called Library Express, delivers journal articles directly to the desktop of faculty, staff, and graduate students. The cost of the service is minimal or free.

UW-Madison Libraries also recently began providing Distance Library Services, delivering books and other materials to faculty, staff, and students outside of Dane County at no charge.

The Wisconsin Water Resources Library is affiliated with the UW Water Resources Institute and Sea Grant Institute, and housed at the Aquatic Sciences Center on the UW-Madison campus. To find out more, click here or call (608) 262-3069.

- Jill Ladwig

Last updated 18 April 2002 by Karl
All contents copyright 2001 University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute

http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/Communications/news/LD_stories/2002/WRIlibrary.html