THE GRAND CANON
NOTES TO NEW USERS
THE GRAND CANON is now a series of four volumes: Volume 1 is in two parts; Part A is the extensive Introduction, Statistics, Surveys and Commentaries, and Part B is the Bibliography. Volume 2 is the Cartobibliography of the Grand Canyon and Lower Colorado River Regions. Volume 3 is the compendium, Grand Canyon, Colossal Mirror: The Term “Grand Canyon” as Used in Geographical Nomenclature, Analogy, Metaphor and Neology.
This is a definitive source—a canon. The Bibliography (Volume 1/Part B) is effectually the core work of the entire Grand Canyon–Lower Colorado River bibliography project, presented in 32 topically distinct parts. To it is added the separate Cartobibliography containing its own introduction and extensive chorographical notes.
These are supported by the separate, voluminous Volume 1/Part A for several reasons. The work requires documentation that is meant to serve for a long time and to answer questions, particularly when I am no longer able to do so. Users may want explanations for why the material is here, how it was assembled, what it can do for them, and how they might want to move ahead with more ambitious projects. I take advantage of four decades of professional experience I gained while working with researchers in museums and libraries, learning from their needs and expectations, all this during the transition from “analog” to “digital” methods and resources. Editorially inclined users may object to some repetitive information in the Introduction. I counter with the observation that many users who have either grown into or grown up with digitally accessed resources will proceed into this one in the selective, hyperlinked fashion to which they are accustomed, perhaps never noticing the remainder as easily as they would have with a hardcopy product.
The very lengthy “Introduction to Content and Coverage” in Volume 1/Part A explains the history, components, and organization of the bibliography. (The volume contents for Part A are also shown in the present volume on pp. vii–viii). It adds informative surveys and commentaries on bibliography and on where THE GRAND CANON stands with respect to other resources that have been compiled for the Grand Canyon–lower Colorado River region and other regions. Historical and geographical perspectives of the region are provided. Also offered is an argument in support of the continued use of bibliographies in the digital age, and the service this one can provide in revitalized ways long into the future, an inspiration for new projects and partnerships—perhaps even a source for analytical studies utilizing Artificial Intelligence.
On this website the entire volume of more than 13,700 pages is divided into its 32 subject-specific parts (see the "BIBLIOGRAPHY (INDIVIDUAL PARTS)" tab. Many users will prefer this divided presentation because of the widely different subjects covered by the bibliography. All files are extracts from the full volume, retaining original pagination and layout.
Users who wish to download THE GRAND CANON Volume 1/Parts A & B and Volume 2 (Cartobibliography) as single PDFs may do so here: