Colorado Water Dec 2005

• Year: 2005
• Title: Colorado Water
• Author: Water Center of Colorado State University
• Description: December 2005 Issue
• Publications - Doc Type: Other

Libraries and archives often hear researchers saying
they want —and even expect — materials to be on-
line, easily accessed with a keyword and the click of a
mouse. Though the immense volume of unique archi-
val materials will never entirely be put on the Internet,
archives do utilize this modern medium for increased
access. The Colorado State University Water Re-
sources Archive has recently become part of this effort
with its Colorado's Waters Digital Archive [http://lib.
colostate .edu/archives /cowaters /].
Still in its beginning stages, the Colorado's Waters
Digital Archive (CWDA) debuts with fourteen reports
on Colorado water projects. All fourteen come from
the Water Resources Archive's Ival V. Goslin Water
Resources Collection, which documents the Colorado
Water Resources and Power Development Authority's
activities during the 1980s. Goslin was the executive
director of the Authority from 1982 to 1985.
From 1983 to 1990, the Authority conducted, at the
request of local sponsors, several feasibility studies
to find potential projects to finance. The engineering
reports and basic data from the Authority - funded water
planning studies constitute the Goslin Collection.
Specific water project examinations now found in the
Digital Archive include ones involving: Cherry Creek,
Clear Creek, the Fraser River, the San Luis Valley, the
Saint Wain Basin, the Colorado River, the Upper Gun-
nison- Uncompahgre Basin and the Cache la Poudre
River.
The reports are presented both as digital images of
each page (nearly 3,000 of them) as well as search-
able full text. A search on any word will show results
of where that word appears on any page in all of the
reports. This facilitates research not only through the
searchability of previously print -only documents, but
also brings all of these reports to computer desktops
around the world.
While additional documents from the Water Resources
Archive will be scanned and made available in the
same manner over time, these particular reports were
chosen for their relevancy to current topics being
investigated in the state. The reports provide the data
and information on projects once intended to be built
in Colorado, but which never were constructed. As
agencies around the state look for new water supply
solutions, knowing what wasn't built and why can
be very informative. Additionally, more historical
information available facilitates more informed dialog
by decision makers in the state, such as the interbasin
roundtable participants.
The CWDA is part of the Western Waters Digital
Library [http: / /www.westemwaters.org /], a collabora-
tive effort of the Greater Western Library Alliance that
was funded by the Institute of Museum and Library
Services. In addition to Colorado, libraries from five
other states have contributed materials about water in
the west, focusing on the Platte, Rio Grande, Colo-
rado and Columbia river basins.
As stated earlier, not all materials in archives and li-
braries will find their way to the Internet. One solution
these repositories are providing, though, is online lists
of materials in their holdings. The Water Resources
Archive does this through finding aids for each col-
lection, which have been searchable online for nearly
two years now, with new finding aids being added fre-
quently [see http : / /Iib.colostate.edu/archives /water /].
The CSU Libraries is also providing a new online list
of water - related publications in its Colorado Agricul-
ture Bibliography [ http:/ /lib.colostate.edu/research/ag-
bib/], which specifically includes a section on irriga-
tion and water.
To help libraries and archives in the daunting task of
determining what to digitize for online access next, it
is helpful to know what would be of benefit to today's
students, researchers and water professionals. If you
have ideas or suggestions along these lines, or have
questions about the Water Resources Archive— physi-
cally or virtually please contact Patty Rettig at 970-
491 -1939 or Patricia.Rettig @colostate.edu.
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