LOCATION :
The Library Facility is located in Plymouth City Centre within a low-rise residential block. Car parking in the vicinity is very poor before 1800 hrs each day and visitors should seek to park in a local car park or travel in by public transport. We are currently attempting to obtain our own car parking space. The address of the Library Facility is as given for the Society's Office on the Homepage. Two views of the Library Facility interior are given above.

  REFERENCE FACILITY : 
The Library Facility is privately owned and managed by the Society and primarily serves the requirements of its United Kingdom and Foreign Membership Sections and provides a technical reference base underpinning the Society's workload and projects.
However, within the framework of Article 2. of its Constitution ("The Aims of the Society"), the Society can and regularly does help, assist or support non-members who are engaged upon, or who have a keen interest in karst research or study, by granting access to the Reference Library Facility and limited use of its support services. Details of specific library-user services and user eligibility are given below.

This most essential research-resource is one that the Society takes great care to generously fund on an annual basis. As and when new reference titles are published, funds are allocated immediately for their purchase. There is also constant vigilance on the "second-hand" books market for the occasional availability of unstocked "back issues" of karst or speleo-related Serials to fill the many small gaps in publication-runs within the Society's current Collections.

  DESCRIPTION OF CONTENTS : 
The Library is essentially a specialist information reference resource comprising 2 main sections and several subsidiary sections:-

.....-..KARST- & SPELEO-RELATED SERIALS (Periodicals),  containing present (active) and past (inactive) Titles from U.K. and International sources published on a regular basis. The range spans most types of publications from caving club journals to institutional annuals, all of karst and cave relevance. The Catalogue of this Collection is currently available as a single, downloadable Zipped MS Word v.97 Document by following the Link given in the Catalogue Section below.
Alternatively, the Catalogues are now available again in hardcopy printout.

.....-..KARST- & SPELEO-RELATED NON-SERIALS, containing karst and cave-relevant material, obtained from UK and International sources, published in a range of formats from leaflets, booklets and photo-slide sets, to books, magazines, newspaper articles, videos, super 8mm cine films, audio-tapes and various digital formats. This Section has a separate Map Rack on which are stored Cave Maps. The Catalogues of this Collection are currently available as 4 separate downloadable Zipped MS Word v. 97 Documents,.viewable by following the Link given in the Catalogue Section below.
Alternatively, the Catalogues are now available again in hardcopy printout format.

.....-..Non Karst-related Technical Section, giving generalised reference-support in respect of geology, chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, archaeology, anthropology, palaeontology, semantics and languages.
.....-..A Sub-section on Metalliferous Mines and Mining, mostly of the metalliferous mining area of the English Westcountry, heads a further Section of publications unrelated to the Karst or Speleo sciences. The small Mines and Mining Collection of books was begun in 1978 and ceased any further expansion in 1981., when the Society simultaneously ceased both its active Mines Projects at Dolcoath Mine, Camborne, in Cornwall and at Wheal Emily Mine, Knighton, in south west Devon and resolved not to spend any more funds on this Section of its Library Collection. It has been regarded by some as being short-sighted in not completing the acquisition of certain sets of serialised books on Mines and Mining. However, the Ruling stands and no further Mines or Mining publications have been bought since 1981. The Catalogue of this Collection is currently available as a single, downloadable Zipped MS Word v.97 Document by following the Link given in the Catalogue Section below.
Alternatively, the Catalogue is also available in hardcopy printout.
.....-..Further Sub-Sections compiles both the Society's considerable Karst- and Speleo-related.Maps, Plans and Surveys Collection and the Non Karst- and Speleo-related.Maps, Plans and Surveys Collection. The two individual Catalogues further list their contents by Item Type, and includes geological, hydrogeological, city/town/region maps, as well as cave surveys, mine surveys, etc.
.....-..A further Sub-Section compiles the Society's considerable Karst- and Speleo-related Poster Collection, examples of which are always on display in the Library & Archives Facility.

  CATALOGUES :
This Online Systems Version of the Catalogues are updated on a regular basis. The readability of the word Document in the form originally intended is dependant upon the user's software installations and setup. The text contains many diacritical signs and these may be interpreted by users' computers as indecipherable "macros" or even as a "virus". Please refer to the accompanying MS DOS doc.

The Catalogue of the Society's Archives Collection is currently at an advanced stage of construction and is now viewable by Members and other Authorized Users. It will not be available for viewing on the Public Access Pages. The Link to this extensive Catalogue can be found on the dedicated Archives Page.

The Catalogue of the remaining supportive Non-Karst Technical Collection is not currently under construction.

Additionally, cataloguing of the Society's Maps Collections and Poster Collections is now underway. 

A substantial proportion of the Library Stock represents publications acquired from many countries in Eastern Europe. We recommend that the Society's Library Guide to Languages be consulted to check how the Catalogues are compiled in respect of the use of different Languages and Alphabets.

Financially, the Publications Procurement Programme operates in two ways:-
.....i)   by receipt of actual publication donations into the stock, or 
.....ii)  by specific or targetted donations for the purchase of a particular publication. Not reflected in the annual Financial Statement is the annually large number of publication donations received from our colleagues abroad.
Due to the extremely high cost of specialist books, the PPP has necessitated the establishment of the Society's own routes into book purchasing, whereby we can obtain our specialist book requirements at the cheapest prices.
.....-  In respect of the PPP acquisitions list for gap-filling missing Issues from the Karst- and Speleo-related Serials Collection, these can be deduced by default when viewing the pages of the Serials Catalogue entries.
.....-  In respect of the PPP for the Karst- and Speleo-related Non-Serials Collections, the Link below will open an MS Word document detailing the current list of publications sought by the Society.

.....-..Discount Literature Purchase Scheme for Members :   Members can benefit directly from the PPP in being able to order copies of individual Titles for their own use often at a 10% - 15% discount through the Society's Purchasing Accounts or through benefits associated with the Society's Institutional Memberships, where discounts have ranged from 10% - 60%.
.....-..Photocopying :   Operating by prior arrangement, Members can benefit from the Society's free but limited photocopying service. We have an arrangement for 50 free A4 sides or 50 free A3 sides of photocopying each month (or variations thereof). If the limit is exceeded, a charge of 5p per side is levied. Larger sizes to accomodate the reproduction of charts and plans must be paid for at cost. The free photocopying service is black & white copying only. Colour copying is available to Members at a highly subsidized rate.
.....-..In-house Stock Literature / Information Search & Retrieval :   Members may ask for specified information to be sourced from within the Society's own Library Stock. Retrieved information may be photocopied and forwarded to the enquirer by post.
.....-..National / International Library Loan Service :   In support of particular enquiries for information relating to the Society's UK or foreign-based Projects, it may be necessary to use the official Inter-Library Loan System operated by the UK Public Library Service through the British Library, to source and obtain information. The use of this Service incurs a fee and will be paid for by the Society.
This Service is available to Members and Project Workers at cost.

.....-..National / International Library and Archive Search Service :   In support of particular enquiries for information relating to the Society's UK or foreign-based Projects, it may be necessary for us to directly source and obtain information stored in a Private Library or Archive. Information search and retrieval Services may incur a fee at source and copying, if permitted, may attract a fee. All such costs are borne by the Society. This Service is available to Members and Project Workers.

As a result of a recent review, all the above Services are now only available to Members and Project Workers. However, as mentioned above, we will continue to give limited access to bona-fide individuals in the UK on an ad hoc basis, by prior arrangement, but please note that we currently have no service or access-exchange arrangements with any other Public, Private or Academic Library Service in the UK. We do have such agreements with certain Institutions in Europe.

  ACADEMIC SERVICES :
..-..Special Language Translations Service :  This Special Service relies entirely upon the Society's own in-house capabilities. We do not purchase the Service either in part or in whole from external sources due to the extremely high costs levied by commercial translators. This Service is limited to the specific languages listed below and only in connection with the translation of material held by the Society.
The Service will provide translation of material held in the Library Stock published in Bosnian, Croatian, Czech, French, Hungarian, Slovak, Slovene, Serbian (and the Serbo-Croatian Form) into the English Language. Please note that this Service is not currently available to non-Members.

..-..Systems Access Registry :  This internal resource, also known as SAR., is lodged within the Academic Services Facility and is the overall Control Procedure governing access to all the Society's facilities, documentation and activities. Its existence is mainly encountered, either directly or indirectly, by users of this Website, where Web-publishing, Webpage Editing, together with Information Access for browsers, is all strictly controlled by SAR.

  MEDIA RESOURCES :
A range of media resources is available to Members within the Library and Archives Facilities. The Society maintains a variety of equipment to offer the ability of continuing access to a range of audio / visual information-storage formats that are no longer in vogue, such as the traditional audio-tape, VHS-C, Betamax, etc., in addition to all the modern digital variations. Additionally, we offer Members the use of digital technology formats offering information-storage, digital information-recording and digital information-copying / transfer.

  THE FUTURE OF THE SOCIETY'S LIBRARY RESOURCE :
With the forthcoming change in status of the Society to that of a Registered Charity, it is proposed to transfer the Archive Resource into the ownership of the new organization, provided that the present material-acquisition and access arrangements can continue indefinitely without any change. If this is not possible, the ownership of this Asset will be vested with a "Holding Organization", which will effectively be a "residual" of the current Society's organization.

1.   "Encyclopedia of Caves."
.
David Culver (Editor), American University, Washington DC, USA.
William White (Editor), Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA.

Readership :  Scientists and students whose research and study touches on caves or their ecosystems, including biologists, geologists, hydrologists, environmental scientists, mineralogists, etc. Also recreational cavers and the educated general public with an interest in caves.
ISBN :  0-12-198651-9......Book/Hardback
Dimensions :  216 x 279 mm.
Pages :  680 pp.
Imprint :  Academic Press
Publication Date :16 November 2004
List Price :  was GB £65.00p. now £100.00p.
Publisher's Description : Encyclopedia of Caves is a self-contained, beautifully illustrated work dedicated to caves and their unique environments. It includes more than 100 comprehensive articles from leading scholars and explorers in 15 different countries. Each entry is detailed and scientifically sound, yet accessible for students and non-scientists. This large-format reference is enchanced with hundreds of full-color photographs, maps, and drawings from the authors' own work, which provide unique images of the underground environment. The Encyclopedia of Caves is an essential interdisciplinary resource for scientists, students, and caving enthusiasts.

Contents :  (topics in alphabetical order) :
Adaptation to Darkness by E Aden;  Adaptation to Low Food by K Hüppop;  Adaptation to Low Oxygen by F Hervant and F Malard;  Adaptive Shifts by F G Howarth and Hannelore Hoch;  Anchialine Caves by Boris Sket;  Anchialine Cave, Biodiversity in, by T M Iliffe;  Bats by T H Kunz and S W Murray;  Beetles by O T Moldovan;  Behavioral Adaptations by Jakob Parzefall;  Breakdown by E L White;  Burnesville Cove, Virginia by G S Clemmer;  Camps by G S Clemmer;  Castleguard Cave, Canada by D Ford;  Cave, Definition of, by D Culver and W B White;  Cave Dwellers in the Middle East by P Goldberg and Ofer Bar-Yosef; Chemoautotrophy by A S Engel; Clastic Sediments in Caves by G S Springer; Closed Depressions by Ugo Sauro; Coastal Caves by J Mylroie;  Contamination of Cave Waters by Heavy Metals, by D J Vesper;  Contamination of Cave Waters by Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (NPALs) by C L Loop; Cosmogenic Isotope Dating by D Granger; Crustacea by H H Hobbs III.; Databases by K Wheeland; Dinaric Karst, Diversity in, by Boris Sket; Diversity in the Tropics by L Deharveng; Diversity in the United States by H H Hobbs III.;  Diversity Patterns in Australia by W F Humphreys;  Diversity Patterns in Europe by J Gibert;  Early Humans in the Mammoth Cave Area by P J Watson;  Ecotones by D Culver;  Entranceless Caves, Discovery of, by N W Davis;  Entranceless Caves, Geophysics of, by W B White;  Entrances by W B White;  Epikarst by M Bakalowicz;  Epikarstic Communities by D Culver and A Brancelj;  Evolution of Lineages by E Trajano;  Exploration and Light Sources by W B White;  Fish by H Wilkens;  Flooding by J Meiman and C Groves;  Food Sources by T Poulson;  Friars Hole System, West Virginia, by S R H Worthington and D M Medville; Glacier Caves by A G Fountain; Guano Communities by P Gnaspini; Gypsum Caves by A Klimchouk; Gypsum Flowers and Related Speleothems by W B White;  Hydrogeology of Karst Aquifiers by W B White;  Hydrothermal Caves by Y Dublyansky;  Huautla System, Mexico by C W Steele and J Smith;  Invasion, Active vs. Passive, by D L Danielopol and R Rouch; Jewel Cave, South Dakota by M E Wiles; Karren by J Lundberg;  Karst Waters Tracing by W K Jones;  Kazumura Cave, Hawaii by K Allred;  Krubera (Voronja) Cave by A Klimchouk;  Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico by P Kambesis;  Life History, Evolution by D Culver;  Mammoth Cave System by R Brucker;  Mapping Subterranean Biodiversity by M Christman;  Marine Regressions by C Boutin;  Maya Caves by A Stone and J Brady;  Microbes by C R Crumly;  Minerals by Bogdan P. Onac;  Modeling Karst Aquifers by C M Wicks;  Molluscs by D Culver;  Morphological Adaptations by K Christiansen;  Multilevel Caves and Landscape Evolution by D M Anthony;  Mulu Caves, Malaysia by J Despain;  Myriapods by D Culver;  Myth and Legend, Caves in, by P J Steward;  Natural Selection by T C Kane and R C Richardson;  Neutral Mutation by Horst Wilkens;  Nitrate Contamination in Karst Ground Water by B G Katz;  Nullabor Caves, Australia by J James, A K Contos, and C M Barnes;  Paleomagnetic Record in Cave Sediments by I D Sasowsky;  Paleontology of Caves: Pleistocene Mammals by K Kowalski;  Passages by G Veni;  Passages, Growth and Development by A N Palmer;  Pits and Shafts by J W Hess;  Population Structure by V Sbordoni, G Allegrucci, and D Cesaroni;  Postojna-Planinska Cave System, Slovenia by Stanka Sebela;  Protecting Caves and Cave Life by W R Elliot;  Recreational Caving by J M Wilson;  Rescues by J C Hempel;  Root Communities in Lava Tubes by F D Stone, F G Howarth, H Hoch, and M Asche; Salamanders by J Durand;  Saltpetre Mining by D A Hubbard, Jr.;  Show Caves by A A Cigna;  Siebenhengste Cave System, Switzerland by P-Y Jeannin and P Häuselmann; Sinking Streams and Cave Systems by J A Ray;  Soil Piping and Sinkhole Failures by B F Beck;  Solution Caves in Regions of Moderate Relief by A N Palmer; Solutional Sculpturing by P J Murphy; Species Interactions by D Culver; Speleothem Deposition by W Dreybrodt; Speleothems by D Davis;  Spiders and Related Groups by J Reddell;  Springs by W B White;  Stalactites and Stalagmites by S Frisia;  Sulfuric Acid Caves by A N Palmer and C A Hill;  Ukranian Caves by A Klimchouk;  Vertebrate Visitors by Nikoa Tvrtkovi;  Vicariance and Dispersalist Biogeography by J R Holsinger;  Volcanic Caves by W B White;  Wakulla Spring Underwater Cave System, Florida by B A Am Ende;  Water Chemistry in Caves by J Herman;  Worms by Elzbieta Dumnicka.
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REVIEWS :
"This book is an exciting and significant contribution to the field of caves and karst. It represents an exceptionally handy reference for experts in specific aspects of caves and karst but it is also an excellent reference for those individuals who are less expert because technical jargon has been minimized. The sound scholarship...is a credit to the field and will make this a much sought after book for many years."
- Malcolm S. Field, Editor, Journal of Cave and Karst Studies.

"Culver and White have brought together a truly international team of world-class experts--almost as international as caves themselves--to contribute to the Encyclopedia of Caves. But this work is more than an encyclopedia, and it covers more than just caves. It offers in-depth accounts of all important topics concerning caves and life in caves. Students of biology, geography and geology will value it for its textbook-style clarity... For cavers and professionals it will serve as the most comprehensive state of the art reference in the multidisciplinary field of subterranean sciences."
- Peter Trontelj, Univ. of Ljubljana, Slovenia

"This monumental and attractively presented reference book belongs on the bookshelf of every person with an interest in caves, endangered species, or the biological diversity of our planet. The hundred or so chapter authors are a Who’s Who of the world’s cave experts...This book will be an invaluable reference for students, teachers, scientists, and anyone interested in learning more about the remarkable diversity of life and geology that lies hidden beneath our feet."
- Larry Master, Chief Zoologist, NatureServe

"The construction of the items from 'Adaptation to Darkness' to 'Worms' gives a deep, accurate insight on the cave’s world. Several points of view are considered, from exploration techniques to history and archaeology, from geology to hydrogeology, from biology to taxonomy and evolution ... Encyclopedia of Caves will be one of the landmarks for the sciences of cave studies from now and for many years onward..."
- Giuseppe Messana, CNR - Institute of Ecosystem Study , Firenze, Italy

"The Encyclopedia of Caves, edited by Culver and White, with over 100 articles by world-wide experts on caves, is quite unique with contributions from multi-disciplines and a great variety of subject matter: academic, as well as practical...This volume is a must for researchers, cave enthusiasts, teachers, and developers."
- Philip LaMoreaux, Editor-in-Chief, Environmental Geology and Water Science, from the Foreword.

"…one of the most readable and engaging volumes of this kind... …the editors are to be commended for bringing together such a wealth of useful and interesting material in a single reference volume and for its appealing presentation."
- Russell S. Harmon, North Carolina State University.

- and in the Society's opinion ........ 
This book claims to be an Encyclopedia - providing a comprehensive coverage of the subject of Caves. This, it certainly does not do and in a single volume of this size, cannot reasonably hope to do unless the subject matter is dealt with in a totally different way. Why authors and publishers alike have to revert to the use of the term "Encyclopedia" in such cases, we shall never know. However, in this case, it has a better chance of dealing with its subject "Caves" than does another recently published Title claiming to be an "Encyclopedia" of Karst and Caves - an impossible task in a single volume. We suggest that the Encyclopedia of Caves would have been better titled "A Treatise on Caves", because if it had used this descriptive title, it could certainly have claimed to have succeeded remarkably well, as is indicated by the details of its Contents listed above. The book is well produced and to a high level of quality that is very surprising for the price. One may normally expect to pay up to twice the amount for comparative books dealing in the same subject matter of limited, specialist appeal.
The Contents are certainly wide ranging in their coverage of cave-related aspects and each of the topics are dealt with professionally by renowned authors from an impressive international team of speleologists and karstologists. There are a selection of cave systems from the usual "global favourites" which are used to illustrate particular Chapter topics, with a few other less known caves also included for the same purpose. Illustrations abound in this volume, which, together with the general approach or style used in the text throughout its pages in an attempt to thoroughly explain each topic in terms that are easily understandable, has ensured that we can thoroughly recommend it to both specialists and non-specialists as a sound purchase at an excellent price.

Readership :  Scientists and students whose research and study touches on karst hydrogeology and karst engineering, including geologists, hydrologists, civil engineers and environmental scientists. 
ISBN :  1-56670-671-8......Book/Hardback
Dimensions :  163 x 242 mm.
Pages :  328 pp.
Imprint :  CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group).
Publication Date :  06 November 2004
List Price :  GB £79.99p.
Publisher's Description :  Water Resources Engineering in Karst is a definitive engineering guide for the design and construction of water infrastructure projects within karst formations and protection systems for karstified reservoirs, aquifers, streams and springs. It includes investigative techniques, practical design solutions, case studies with failure analysis, criteria proposals for karst groundwater protection zoning, and a comprehensive review of the unique hydrogeological dynamics of karst formations. Most importantly, it provides engineering approaches for preventing and mitigating environmental problems common in karst regions.
The author presents a wealth of data collected during his role as an investigating and designing hydrogeologist on karst projects. He gives readers a better understanding of the challenges involved in engineering and construction in karst regions around the world.

-  Includes 40 case studies related to dams and reservoirs in different karst regions around the world.
-  Allows speedy access to precise data with 200 tables.
-  Provides engineering approaches for preventing and mitigating environmental problems in karst systems.
-  Promotes a better understanding of the unique hydrogeological dynamics of karst systems.

Karstified geologic formations (carbonates and evaporites) cover more than 15% of the Earth's land surface; in fact, 25% of the world's population either lives on top of karst formations or obtains its water from them. These areas contain unusual landscape features such as caves, sinkholes, springs, aquifers, and disappearing streams that are particularly susceptible to anthropogenic disturbance. Engineers, hydrologists, and geologists therefore need to have a detailed understanding of characteristics and vulnerabilities of these formations.

Contents :
Introduction;
General Introduction to Karst : Origin and Meaning of Karst; Types of Karst; Karstification Process; Role of Tectonics in Process of Karstification; Depth of Karstification; Karst Porosity; Basic Geomorphological Features; Karst Springs; Ponor (Swallow Holes); Estavelles; Submarine Springs; Subsidences and Collapse.
Groundwater in Karst :  Basic Theories on Karst Groundwater Circulation; Karst Aquifer; Evolution of Karst Aquifers; Fluctuation of Water Table,; Average Velocity of Water Flow in Karst.
Underground Water Tapping :  General Approach; Examples; Tapping Galleries; Tapping of Water Intrusion Under Pressure.
Dams and Reservoirs - Inherent Risk :  Introduction; Geological Predisposition to to Risk; Risk Types; Time as Risk Component; Risk of Ecological Nature; Induced Seismicity; Risk Reduction Strategy; Acceptance of Risk Reality.
Dams and Reservoirs - Prevention and Remediation :  Data Needed for Grout Curtain Design; Water Pressure Test - Ludgeon Test;  Relation Between WPT (Lu) and Hydraulic Conductivity (k); Grout Curtain Position; Grouting Criteria; Grouting Depth; Grouting Pressure; Hydraulic Fracturing and Hydraulic Jacking; Grouting Procedure; Karstified Rock Flushing for Grouting; Concentrated Leakage Impermeabilization; Case Studies; Dam and Reservoir Construction in Gypsum, Anhydrite and Conglomerate.
Underground Dams and Reservoirs :  General Underground Reservoir Classification; Basic Conditions of Artificial Underground Storage; Possible Concepts of Watertight Structures; Advantages and Shortcomings of Underground Storages and Dams; Examples and Projects; Some Unfavourable Consequences of Underground Storage; Rock Instability and Local Seismic Activity.
Karst Spring Submergence :  Trebišnjica Spring Submergence; Dumanli Spring Submergence; Neraidha Spring Submergence; Pivsko Oko Spring Submergence; Rama Spring Submergence; Yarg Spring Submergence.
Tunneling in Karst - Common Problems :  Nature of Problems; Investigation Needs; Defects and Remediations; Tunnel Boring Machine in Karst; Relocation of Tunnel Route; Tunneling Beneath Groundwater Level; Role of Hydrogeology in Tunnel Construction Planning; Plugging of Massive Inflow Under Pressure into the Tunnel.
Criteria Proposals for Groundwater Protection Zoning in Karst Regions :  Introduction; Actual Zoning Concept Applied in Nonkarstic Areas; Basic Hydrogeological Parameters for Zoning Criteria in Karst; Criteria for Zoning; Restrictions in Protection Zones; Particularities of Zoning Procedures in Karst; Water Quality Monitoring; Protection Planning.
Groundwater Tracing Techniques :  Introduction; Dye Tracers; Common Salt; Radioactive Isotopes; Post-activated Isotopes; Smoke and Gaseous Tracers.
Application of Geophysical Methods in Karst :  Introduction; Geoelectric Methods; Geophysical Logging of Boreholes; Geothermal Effect as a consequence of Water Circulation; Borehole Radar Method; Electromagnetic VLF Method; Geo-bomb Method.
References.
Indexes.
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REVIEWS :
- in the Society's opinion ........ 
This book is a very useful contribution to the general topic of engineering in karst from one of the few principal and contemporary world experts on karstology. The book is well produced, though not lavishly so, and does not abound in photographic illustrations. However, the well known author does bring his great personal experience into this volume via illustrations of the various concepts through the use of "case histories", containing a wealth of Maps, Graphs, Figures, Line Drawings and Tables of data. It has to be said that some of this material has already been published by the Author in his lesser-known publication "Geological Engineering in Karst", published in 2000., however, that does not diminish the excellent accomplishment of this current volume, which contains much important material that we have never seen before.
The book is priced at the upper end of the range that one might expect to have to pay for a volume of this size. However, it is targeted at a specialist readership, who no doubt have no problem in the paying the asking price. We do recommend this book, which could also prove to be unexpectedly rewarding to the more discerning and adventurous cave diver. 

Nico Goldscheider & David Drew. (Editors).

Readership :  This is the first book devoted to describing methods of groundwater investigation appropriate to karstic systems and is intended to be of use to practising hydrogeologists with no special training in karst-oriented methods.
ISBN :  9780415428736......Book/Hardbound
Dimensions :  174 x 246 mm.
Pages :  276 pp.
Imprint :  Taylor & Francis Group.
Publication Date :  September 2007.
List Price :  GB £84.00p.
Publisher's Description :  Karstified aquifers are a major source of drinking water. Most standard textbooks on hydrogeology make little mention of the peculiarities of karst groundwater systems in terms of their behaviour and the methods most appropriate to their investigation.
The aim of this book is to describe methods that are appropriate for use in karst terrains. These include methods that are basic to all hydrogeological studies, such as hydraulic investigations, hydrochemistry, geophysics, isotope chemistry and modelling, with the emphasis placed on their application to karst systems. Other techniques such as speleological investigation, ie. the direct exploration of aquifers, are not applicable to non-karstic areas but are of major significance in karst investigations. Water tracing is a fundamental tool for karst investigations but is less frequently used in non-karst hydrogeology.
The various chapters of this book are written by experts in all the different methods. Most of the chapters are multi-authored and the authors include hydrogeologists experienced in evaluating a variety of karst environments that together, provide a balanced view of all the karst methods.
 

Contents :
Introduction.  The Geological and Geomorphological Framework.  Speleological Investigations.  Hydrological Techniques.  Hydraulic Methods.  Hydrochemical Techniques.  Isotopic Techniques.  Tracer Techniques.  Geophysical Methods.  Modelling.  Combined use of Techniques and Methodologies
References.
Indexes.
Contributors :
David Drew; Nico Goldscheider; Bartolomé Andreo; Pierre-Yves Jeannin; Chris Groves; Philipp Häuselmann; Neven Kresic; Daniel Hunkeler; Jacques Mudry; Robert Criss; Lee Davisson; Heinz Surbeck; William Winston; Ralf Benischke; Chris Smart;
Timothy D. Bechtel; Frank P. Bosch; Marcus Gurk; Attila Kovacs; Martin Sauter.
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REVIEWS :
- in the Society's opinion ........ 
The book is certainly useful to those who have little comprehension or experience of karst. It is well produced and presented but does lack in illustrations and contains some material which experienced karstologists may find contentious.
In our opinion, the book is overpriced but nonetheless, should be on the shelves of every karst hydrologist.

Pier Mauro Giachino & Enrico Lana. (Editors).

Readership : 
ISBN :  88-89504-02-1......Book/Hardbound
Dimensions :
Pages :  264 pp. (In the English & German Languages).
Imprint :  Edizione Belvedere, Italia.
Publication Date :  2006.
List Price :...€25.00.
Publisher's PREFACE :
"Leo Weirather, who was born in Brixen on 25th October 1887 and died in Innsbruck on 14th June 1965, was probably one of the greatest biospeleologists and explorers of the first half of last century; he left his work very early, retiring at only 52 years of age, so to devote himself entirely to biospeleological research and, in particular, to cave beetle fauna (Besuchet, 1969; Pretner, 1974). 

At the beginning of last century, he worked as a postman in the Austro-Hungarian army at Trebinje in Herzegovina, from where, immediately after the first world war and following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire, he moved to Innsbruck continuing his commercial activity of insect collector, but above all of biospeleologist explorer, being a profound expert of cave beetle fauna. Leo Weirather, in fact, lived in part selling the specimens he collected that were often prepared by his wife: some specimens of the series collected were sent to specialists for their identification and eventual description, the others were sold to the entomologists interested in them. He did not describe personally any of the several new species he collected, but he was in contact with the major specialists of the XXth century: Jeannel, Knirsch, Müller, Noeske, Reitter, Scheibel, Zariquiey, Winkler, ect. Probably it was the influence expressed by the biospeleologist Lucijan Matulić, during his sojour at Trebinje, to be the mainspring of Weirather's interest towards cave fauna, an interest that he cultivated for all his life, even after his return to Austria (Nonveiller, 1999). His collection was purchased in 1967, together with his archives, by the Museum d’Histoire Naturelle of Genève where it is currently preserved.

Weirather was undoubtedly one of the investigators of subterranean fauna of greatest success; we owe him, for example, the exploration, solely in Dalmatia, of about 500 caves and the discovery of 5 new genera and 79 species and subspecies of Coleoptera new to science (Pretner, 1974). His collecting travels were plenty, carried out it periods when travelling was surely uneasy, if not dangerous, in the Balcanic Peninsula, Crete, Anatolia and Italy, while before we knew only of his explorations in Dalmatia, favoured also by the presence of his wife's relatives in her country of origin (Šibenik), in 1925 (area of Dubrovnik), 1926 and 1927 (areas of Šibenik and Zrmanja), 1937 and 1939 (area of Šibenik) (Pretner, 1974; Nonveiller, 1999). 

Weirather kept notes of his travels that, as Petar Novak wrote, he wanted to use in future for drawing up a catalogue entitled "Fauna Endemica" (Pretner, 1974; Nonveiller, 1999). This catalogue was never published, but Weirather's original notes, written in shorthand German, were translated into German by Egon Pretner (1896 – 1982) a famous Slovenian biospeleologist. Pretner realized three copies of the original typewriting: he kept one for himself, while he gave the other two to Lucien-Charles Genest (1928– 2003) of Grenoble (France) and Vassil Borissov Guéorguiev (1935 - 1996) of Sofia (Bulgaria) after their promise not to popularize them until after his death, as they contained information about Yugoslavian caves, at that time under military secret (Genest & Guéorguiev, 1990 com. pers.). Before his death Pretner handed over to Guéorguiev his copy of Weirather's diaries, together with several new species of Leptodirinae (Coleoptera Cholevidae) still to be described; Genest's copy was given by him to P.M. Giachino in 1997, while the two copies held by Guéorguiev reached Giachino in 1996, together with the archives, after his death.

The very rich set of data, the indispensability of the news to find the visited caves included in these writings, the great diffusion of the material collected by Weirather in the most important specialistic collections and, not in the least, the wish to keep a promise made to our friends Lucien Genest and Vassil Guéorguiev, finally convinced us to attend to the translation into English and to the publication of the diaries."

Contents :
(See Preface above)
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REVIEWS :
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