From the earliest days of the Geological Survey of Canada the field notebook has been an essential piece of field equipment. Generations of Survey geologists have used them to record their field observations, and many field photos have the traditional bright red field notebook emblazoned with the Survey logo as a scale on outcrops.
Field notebooks are an important record of a scientist’s data and must be preserved for present and future use. Survey founder William Logan recorded some of the first Canadian geological observations in the early 1840s, and several of his notebooks, which include sketches of landscapes and geology, have been scanned and are available on the Library and Archives Canada’s website at: https://bac-lac.on.worldcat.org/oclc/76939771?lang=en.
Today, geologists use a range of digital tools to capture field data. This speeds up the production of maps, but, even in this electronic age, field notebooks are still used. The tradition of the red field notebook with the gold logo on its cover, however, ended in 2008, with the closure of the Survey’s stationery store.
Category: Fieldwork
Decade: 2000s
Reference
From field to fact : William E. Logan and the geological survey of Canada.
