Treasuries of Information
Alaskan police can rejoice at the publication of The Alaska Regional Profiles series. Disputes over caribou migration routes and the minimum requirements for residential sewer-water systems need not shatter community peace any longer. Families torn by dissention, over subsistence harvests, the location of thermal springs, and freeze-up dates, can settle these divisive issues by a quick reference.
Finding facts on the state's people, resources, and land has always been difficult. Few up-to-date reference books existed and the need for comprehensive compilations has been manifest. The Arctic Environmental Information and Data Center of the University of Alaska, aided by other agencies, with federal and state support, planned a regional profile series. To date, volumes on the Arctic, Southeast, Southwest, and Southcentral Regions have appeared. The quality of these books is uniformly excellent. Hundreds of interesting photographs, drawings, maps graphs, and statistical tables enhance the presentation of varied information. These oversize volumes may weigh down the coffee table, but at $25.00 a volume, each represents a tremendous bargain.
As Governor Hammond's preface indicates, the series was designed to answer the planning needs of a rapidly changing state: "Intelligent planning requires facts and requires that those facts be understandable and available to many different people." The Alaska Regional Profiles fulfill the need for clear, concise, and accurate data. Each profile is divided into two sections: the natural environment and the man-made environment. Information on the natural environment is presented on climate, regional setting, marine environment, topography, geology, water, soils, and biotic communities. For the man-made environment, there is information on the people (history, population, economy, government); land-use and status; and services-transportation, communication, and community facilities. A comprehensive bibliography completes each book.
You must see these volumes to appreciate them. A random look at the Arctic volume tells me all I want to know about mosquitos, for example, and shows photographs that reconcile me to winter. The maps are particularly good. Many fold out to double-size, providing a projection of ample size.
The series strikes me as the most significant single publication effort Alaska has produced. While the Governor recommends the books to business, local governments, teachers, and state and federal agencies, I think any informed Alaskan could use them as a cornerstone of his northern library.
