The GeoRef database, established by the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) in 1966, provides access to the geoscience literature of the world. GeoRef is the most comprehensive AGI database in the geosciences and continues to grow by more than 80,000 references a year. The database contains over 3.1 million references to geoscience journal articles, books, maps, conference papers, reports and theses.
The GeoRef database covers the geology of North America from 1669 to the present and the geology of the rest of the world from 1933 to the present. The database includes references to all publications of the U.S. Geological Survey. Masters' theses and doctoral dissertations from US and Canadian universities are also covered.
To maintain the database, GeoRef editor/indexers regularly scan more than 3,500 journals in 40 languages as well as new books, maps, and reports. They record the bibliographic data for each document and assign index terms to describe it. Each month between 4,000 and 7,000 new references are added to the database.
A subscription to the GeoRef database also includes access to the GeoRef In Process database that contains records that are in the process of being indexed prior to their integration in the main GeoRef database. Users can choose to search these databases separately or simultaneously.
GeoRef Key Facts
• Coverage:
1933 – current (International resources)
1669 – current (North American resources)
• Total Sources Covered:
Over 6.5 million A&I records
• Database Update Frequency:
Biweekly with approximately 3,000 new records added per update
GeoRef staff currently scan over 3000 journals to locate articles of a geoscience nature. A selected list of journals are given priority. Formal geoscience articles are indexed and included in the GeoRef database with as much speed as is practical.