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Richard R. Olendorff
Memorial Library
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The
R. R. Olendorff Memorial Library was originally created from a merger
of two collections: the Raptor Management Information System (RMIS)
developed by Dr. Richard R. (Butch) Olendorff (1943-1994) of BLM,
and the Snake River Birds of Prey Area Literature File managed by
Karen Steenhof of the BLM, Boise District Office. Dr. Olendorff
was a noted leader of the raptor research community and an internationally
recognized authority on birds of prey. He had a lifelong interest
in compiling raptor literature. The original focus of this collection
was raptor ecology and management. The merged collection was named
the Raptor Information System (RIS) and was later expanded to include:
all publications of the Raptor Research Foundation,
an extensive reprint collection donated by Dean Amadon,
papers on shrubsteppe ecology, prey, and vegetation,
the focus of the Snake River Birds of Prey Literature File,
reprint files used to prepare raptor bibliographies
published by the National Wildlife Federation,
a book collection donated by the estate of Barry
L. Keller.
The focus of the collection is on raptor management,
human interaction with raptors, the mitigation of adverse impacts,
and basic raptor biology with an emphasis on population dynamics
and predation. The collection includes reprints of peer reviewed
articles, theses and dissertations, and a significant amount of
"gray literature" in the form of popular articles, unpublished
government reports and progress reports. It is updated regularly
with recent and/or newly acquired references.
A catalog of the library's 33,000+ references about
raptors, the Raptor Information System (RIS), is available on-line
at http://ris.wr.usgs.gov/.
The website development was made possible by a 1997 NBII grant.
This raptor database is used by both local and international patrons
who recognize this extensive raptor collection as a useful resource.
The RIS can be searched for articles on a particular raptor species
by asking for the genus and the species or it can be searched by
any of the approximately 4,000 general keywords used to index documents.
The library collects material primarily but not exclusively in English.
Since formation of the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem
Science Center (FRESC) in 1994, the collection scope has broadened
to include more references about the concerns of the Intermountain
West bringing the entire collection to over 40,000 items and more
than 800 books. There is also a small collection of uncataloged
newsletters, journals, and reports in several languages, and incomplete
runs of 30+ journals titles. In addition to print resources, the
library maintains a visual collection of over 5,000 slides, many
of which have been converted to a digital format. The library has
a slide and flatbed scanner for public use.
The library staff continues to expand the collection.
Library services are available to all FRESC employees, graduate
students at Boise State University, local government agencies, public
and private organizations and individuals. Reprints of articles
written by the Snake River Field Station research staff are available
upon request.
The library collection on a more limited scale contains
literature focusing on the shrub steppe environment and issues of
the Intermountain West. The staff is responsible for the compilation
of the Great Basin Information Project Bibliography at http://greatbasin.nbii.gov/GB_bibliography.html
Most of these citations are NOT available from the Olendorff Library,
but may be obtained at larger universities or by Interlibrary Loan
requests through the user's own library.
Overview of the responsibilities, policies, procedures, goals and
priorities of the library as an integral part of the research operations
of the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center.
List of science websites for researchers, some restricted to USGS
employees only
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