Professor of Music Louanne Long entered a large room in the Steinway and Sons factory in Queens, N.Y., that held six nine-foot concert grand pianos.

"The line-up of pianos in the room just blew me away," she recalled.

She sat at the first and began to play. She moved to the second in line, the third, the fourth, the fifth and, finally, the sixth.

"I nearly jumped off the bench," she said. "The sound was so different, so big, so beautiful. You would play a key and it would blossom above you. It was the most thrilling moment of my life."

Long had been given the assignment of selecting a new concert grand for the university. With heavy usage, pianos in academic institutions have a life expectancy of only about 12 years. Purchased in 1929, the university's 73-year-old grand was due for retirement.

Long flew to New York in May apprehensive about her role in the $75,000 purchase.

"Selecting the piano was a once-in-a-lifetime honor but a tremendous weight on my shoulders. Can you imagine the responsibility?"

Steinway concert grand purchases are made only by appointment at the factory. Buyers may select from only those pianos available at the time-sometimes just three or four.

Long had been warned that most buyers don't find "the one" on the first try. It might take two or even three trips back to Steinway. But when Long sat down at piano No. 6, she said, "I knew in five minutes."

Her decision was confirmed by her travel companions: Steinway broker Kevin Prosser from Palm Springs and technician Ron Elliott, who tunes pianos for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and has traveled with such grand artists as Alfred Brendel and Alicia Delarocha.

The piano now stands in the university's Watchorn Hall under lock and key. It will be tuned once every three weeks before being moved to Memorial Chapel in the fall. A piano technician then will spend two days "voicing" the instrument for the chapel and regulating the responsiveness of the keys.

Listeners can judge Long's selection for themselves at the opening concert of the Redlands Symphony season on Saturday, Sept. 14, when Italian Ricardo Plano performs Grieg's Piano Concerto.

When policymakers, scientists, students or concerned citizens need a reference on California's great inland sea, they now can look to the "Salton Sea Atlas," an extensive collection of maps, photos and other information developed by the University of Redlands.

"The atlas is unique because it blends what is known about the Salton Sea with beautiful graphic arts that tell a story in a very compelling, engaging way," said Timothy Krantz, director of the Salton Sea project. "It combines science with artistic presentation in a way I do not feel has been done before."

The book was completed as part of the Salton Sea Database Program housed in the university's Redlands Institute for Environmental Design, Management and Policy.

The database is being used to inform people involved in environmental decision making. The project was funded by a $4.5 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency and overseen by the institute, an umbrella organization responsible for attracting and managing university research projects.

The book, which is the size of many coffee table books, includes graphic depictions of the area's geology, climate, and cultural history. Pages also are devoted to the sea's fish and bird life, as well as population density, housing patterns and land ownership.

The maps were created using geographic information systems, technology that allows users to merge data into maps, revealing relationships that may have been hidden in the numbers or text but become clear when displayed in map form. ESRI, a leading GIS software developer based in Redlands, published the atlas.

Several students played a key role in creating the atlas, which is being used in at least one University of Redlands science class this fall.

The hard-cover "Salton Sea Atlas" is available by calling (800) 447-9778 or visiting the ESRI GIS Bookstore at www.esri.com. The cost is $79.95.