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About
the Turfgrass Information Center
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In the 1960s, the Michigan State University (MSU) Library began
to collect printed turfgrass materials. In 1968, the personal collection
of the late O.J. Noer, pioneer turf agronomist, was added to the library
holdings through the O. J. Noer Foundation. Later gifts have included the Noer/Milorganite® Division MMSD Image Collection (on indefinite loan), the Scotts Company Archive, and most significantly, the James B Beard Turfgrass Library Collection. Today, the combined collections
are recognized as the most extensive public collection of turfgrass material
in existence.
Between 1983 and 1992, the United States Golf Association (USGA) Turfgrass Research Program supported the development of the USGA Turfgrass Information File (TGIF). Using the Noer Collection as a foundation, TGIF was designed to systematically inventory published turf research and make the bibliographic information available via a computerized database.
Read more about the 20th anniversary of the Turfgrass Information Center.
The TGIF database is now accessible online through the World Wide Web. With over 125,000 searchable items using over 300,000 keywords, these resources cover the full scope of the turfgrass industry.
This database monitors over 320 journals and magazines, research reports,
and conference proceedings. In addition, the database includes records
for extension bulletins, books and book chapters, technical reports, theses
and dissertations, web documents, published Q & As, scanned golf course
plans, and video interviews with selected members of the American Society
of Golf Course Architects, sample photographs from the Noer/Milorganite®
Division MMSD Image Collection, and more!.
The Turfgrass Information Center, the administrative unit that was created
to manage and grow the Turfgrass Information File, has
four primary functions:
1. Collect and preserve published and unpublished materials relating to
turfgrass science, culture, and the management of turfgrass-based facilities,
such as golf courses, parks, sports fields, lawns, sod farms, roadsides,
institutional grounds, and other managed landscapes.
2. Provide and improve precise and structured online access to the collections,
as well as available electronic and other turfgrass-related resources,
via the World Wide Web.
3. Assist users of the collections and online system, by helping them
to identify and locate materials that meet their needs.
4. Provide user workspace and cooperative electronic infrastructure in
support of turfgrass scholarship.