Welcome to the Open Access Surveying Library

Material Organization

Subject matter is arranged by Topic in the Open Access menu. Selecting a Topic lists its Chapters which in turn are further divided into Sections. Most Topics include Self-Study problems.

Content is evolving and will be added as time permits. This is a one-man show so please let me know of grammar errors, typos, etc. Suggestions for other Topics or additions to existing ones are always welcome.

A site account is not necessary to access or use any of the Open Access material.

Software

The Software area contains Excel workbooks and Windows software in support of various Open Access topics. It also includes other software provided as freeware for educational purposes. I welcome feedback and bug reports on any of the products.

Open Access Library Terms of Use

By accessing this material you agree to these terms of its use:

  • Copyright of all non-attributed material on this site is retained by me, Jerry Mahun.
  • You are granted permission to use any of this material (text and/or images) in support of surveying education.
  • Material used shall be appropriately credited.

Because the material is freely provided and intended solely for educational purposes, there is no warranty as to its applicability or appropriateness of use. The author does not assume any liability for damages resulting from its use.

 updated 15 Dec 2023

Additional Free Educational Resources

To jumpstart your day and keep sharp on survey principles check out, there are two Daily Survey Quiz questions. Sign up for them by clicking these links:

Both gentlemen put a lot of effort into doing this so please support them by participating and maybe pitch in a few bucks using their donation links.

Mentoring Mondays (https://mentoringmondays.xyz/). A free weekly online seminar which meets Mondays at 4:00 pm Pacific.  Experts from all over the country presenting a variety of surveying topics. Meetings (over 100 so far) are recorded and available for viewing on the website.

Wisdom Wednesdays (http://wisdomwednesdays.xyz/). Another free online seminar which meets every other Wednesday at 4:00 pm Pacific. This is a book-club meeting: at each meeting a chapter of a surveying book of consequence is discussed. It makes for some lively discussion and constructive learning.  Evidence and Procedures for Boundary Location was the first book reviewed followed by Legal Descriptions by Wattles. Sessions are recorded and available for viewing on the WW website. WW is on hiatus for the summer and will return in the Fall. 

Surveying and Mapping textbook at the Open Textbook Library. This book provides an introduction, at academic level, into the field of surveying and mapping. The book has been compiled based on hand-outs and readers written for the third-year course Surveying and Mapping, in the bachelor program Civil Engineering at Delft University of Technology (Netherlands). 

The Nature of Geographic Information is an excellent open geospatial textbook offered by the Department of Geography at Penn State University. 

Also at Penn State, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences offers GPS and GNSS For Geospatial Professionals online class that has a lot of good material. 

Many historical PLSS publications are available at the BLM/NTC Knowledge Resource Center Library. A slightly larger collection has been assembled by Arizona's BLM Office. Both are excellent resources, particularly if you're researching original Instructions.

Other

Although not free, geolearn (https://geolearn.wcea.education/) offers many reasonably priced short presentations on a wide range of surveying topics. Account creation is necessary to view their course catalog.

For those seeking CST certification, review courses are available at Learn CST (https://learncst.com/)

updated 03 Jul 2024

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