A central repository for recording and storing scientific information relating to oil and gas, coal, and industrial minerals provides easy access and saves times. Without this library, private companies would have to provide storage at their own expense, and most companies discard a great deal of information after its initial use. In addition, a central library has the advantage of storing materials from several sources in one place. At the library, geologists can obtain not only the cores and samples deposited by their own company or institution, but also those from other companies and institutions in the state.

The cost of obtaining well samples and cores is extremely high, and it is grossly inefficient and expensive to drill new holes each time new information is needed. Therefore, a library that documents the results of previous exploration and makes this valuable information available to the public is the only reasonable solution. The library now contains cuttings and cores from more than 20 million feet of exploratory drilling from over 25,000 locations throughout Kentucky. These samples represent an estimated initial expenditure of $585 million. New material representing hundreds of thousands of feet of drilling are added to the library annually.

KGS helps professionals and the general public use the information available at the Well Sample and Core Library as they study the surface and subsurface geology of Kentucky. The library provides easy accessibility and permanent central storage for all well samples and cores obtained in Kentucky.