The Oil Spill Information Center was established in March, 1969, in order to answer an immediate need for information on the causes, effects, and subsequent implications of the Santa Barbara Channel oil spill of January 28, 1969. Initial collection efforts centered around material which was available at the time only locally. Within a few months, however, it became apparent that documentation of the Santa Barbara incident was but part of much larger and more urgent need for a comprehensive documentation program on all offshore oil pollution phenomena, particularly in relation to consequences and effective abatement measures. In view of the fact that no facility existed in the United States that offered a readily available, comprehensive, and organized collection of relevant material on the subject, the Center began to develop a systematic program of bibliographic searching, acquiring, indexing, and disseminating all information pertaining to offshore oil spill events on a global scale, whether of natural, technological, intentional or accidental origin. As a result, the Center has expanded into an international documentation network covering all offshore oil spills and related aspects, with a literature survey and collection effort dating to the Submerged Lands Act of 1953 (Submerged Lands Act, May 22, 1953 [67 Stat. 29], also called Public Law 83-31). At present the Center's information resources contain more than 10,000 items represented in a wide variety of source material, including newspaper and journal articles; local, state, and federal legislative hearings; technical and government contract reports; maps and aerial photographs; slides; video tapes and films; monographs, symposia, and conference proceedings; patents and theses. More than two hundred tanker incidents and major drilling accidents are documented in this collection, including thespill off the Cornwall Coast of England, theoff Puerto Rico, and theoff Nova Scotia. The Santa Barbara Channel spill is comprehensively documented." The Oil Spill Information Center was closed June 30, 1972, due to lack of ongoing financial support. The collection was transferred to Special Collections in 1983. *The above information was taken from a 1971 printed pamphlet about the Oil Information Center (OSIC). 

Additional information about this collection can be found in the finding aid.