Monday, April 24, 2017

USA, Oregon: Geothermal Records are in Good Hands

OIT preserves geo-heat records (Herald and News)

Alla Powers, special collections librarian for Oregon Tech pointed out colored pins dotting a map of Klamath Falls area wells. The framed map outfits a wall located below the Learning Resource Center on the Klamath Falls campus.

Each pin on the map identifies a well in Klamath Falls and its range of depths, from zero to 1,800 feet.

After the closure of the Geo-Heat Center at Oregon Tech, Powers opted to save the map, and a wealth of other geothermal related books and well logs spanning decades in the university’s geo-heat collection. She and volunteers at the Shaw Historical Library have digitized hundreds of documents, and are working on converting well logs to be accessible online.

“We thought it would be a great resource for the community,” Powers said. “Geo heat is very important. It’s one of our most important assets here, so we have to preserve it as well as we can.”