--- Begin Forwarded Message ---
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 18:12:06 -0500
From: Patrick McGlamery <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: RE: The #38 Factor, Gone With The Wind, and Where Were You in
'62 ? <fwd>
Sender: Patrick McGlamery <[log in to unmask]>
Brian and Ken;
Sometimes I feel like an old silver-backed mountain gorilla.
I see very few Forest Service maps and no JOGs or IMWs coming down the feed
tube. The amount of 7.5 maps seems less... by a lot. It is not as it was
back in the late 70s, early 80s. Or at least it seems that way. I also run
a one-person library and get a hands-on look at the new material coming in,
though it goes through cataloging first now. I no longer have to catalog it
too. So, when I look at my numbers over the years, I see less paper coming
from DC.
However, it is encouraging to hear map librarians refer to CD-ROM and
microform as maps. I suppose. Though we all know they are not maps, don't
we? It's a nod to the corrosive effect of technology.
I am reminded of the Coast Survey at the turn of the century, fighting the
tide of new technology. I'm speaking, of course, of lithography; easy to
edit and up-date, cheaper and with less labor costs. Giving up those
beautiful, crisp imprints, (what a nautical chart should be) for the faded,
crude look of the stone print. But, of course, ships were sinking and trade
was endangered because updating copper chart plates was so expensive.
Technology won out, and up-starts like Eldridge competed with the USC&GS for
a cheap, accurate, timely cartographic product.
Map libraries were the winners in that last round of technology.
Lithography and offset printing, the 'stone age' made it possible for public
universities to build collections. Only the privates could build
collections in the 'copper age'.
Now we find ourselves dealing with the 'digital age' and cartography is
again leading the technology and we are sorting all that out. I don't doubt
for a minute that the paper map will endure. It's too hard to stuff that
monitor in the glove compartment and a torn $2.50 map is still better than
all those 8 1/2x11 print-outs from MapQuest. But this age makes it easier
and cheaper to copy "maps" than ever before, and to edit them, and to keep
them up-to-date. But more than that, it points to what maps have always
been all about, and that is that they are cartographic carriers of spatial
data.
As I said before, it's always been about the spatial data. Keller's
comments get to how we store and service our spatial data... paper and
digital. We, the map librarians, are the ones who can define those
"interesting times" and define them we must, or they will be defined for us.
What I have done with MAGIC is to aggresively extract and reformat public
domain data (TIGER, DRG, DOQQ, etc.) to fit my user's profile
(Connecticut-centric, Conn. State Plane, NAD 27>83, map units=feet) and make
it available on a server (Gopher, FTP, HTML). There are no 'public'
computers in the map library. There is a 'vector' workstation and a
'raster' workstation which are used by student employees to extract and
reformat all that data on MAGIC. The 'raster' machine gets public use by
users scanning paper maps and aerial photography and using map library
software and expertise to geo-reference those files. There are now over
25,000 data files on MAGIC. Yesterday 172 .zip files and 26 .sid files were
down loaded. It was an average day. There were not many people in the map
library, but some of those who were there were augmenting their digital data
with info from paper maps and aerial photographs.
I believe that we need to supply our user communities with spatial
information, paper and digital and the most effective way to distribute
digital data is to put it on a server and let the user come and get it.
Watch what they get and listen carefully to what they want and develop
sound, responsive collection development policies.
[the old gorilla crawled off his groaning soapbox and lumbered home]
Patrick
-----Original Message-----
From: Johnnie Sutherland [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 3:03 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: The #38 Factor, Gone With The Wind, and Where Were You in '62?
<fwd>
--- Begin Forwarded Message ---
Date: Thu, 07 Mar 2002 11:56:29 -0800
From: Brian Bach <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: The #38 Factor, Gone With The Wind, and Where Were You in '62?
Sender: Brian Bach <[log in to unmask]>
I wholeheartedly concur with Ken's observations about the Depository Flood
which he so accurately describes below. Because I personally share the labor
with student workers in processing all maps (especially Depository items) I
can't think of a better way to keep current as far as what's coming from
Reston and elsewhere. Because our collection is a small operation (c.90,000
maps) we have our pride, to be sure, and we are pedaling as fast as we can
to keep up most of the time. Paperwork Reduction Act? What's that?
Prof. Keller's article has indeed stimulated a welcome dialogue. I will
attempt some comments of my own.
If anything, because of present and future technical trends, the need for
proper preservation and storage of analog materials becomes even more
essential. To my mind, libraries are an additive entity - to be kept
streamlined for practical purposes of course, but with the imperative of
maintaining an ever-expanding core collection for a future which cannot be
visualized solely through the 'hot tech-talk topics' of today.
Personally, an exclusively digital future strikes me as a tedious bore, but
it's happening, and it will continue to evolve in its own soulless way (just
my opinion, folks). I have just emerged unamused and unrefreshed from a full
quarter of GIS classes, anxious for a few quiet moments to glance at the
soothing genius of Bartholomew's 'The Times Survey Atlas of the World'
(1922). I feel like Rhet Butler, wanting to return to Charleston to see if
there isn't something left of grace and beauty. No, of course I'm not
hunkering down on past glories while denying the future. I want our map
collection to have it all. But nothing should be excluded at the expense of
another. If that sounds too idealistic, I would point out that in the past,
microforms were supposed to replace print media, or at least overcome it.
Like the medium of radio, microforms have found their place and fulfill
their role accordingly. But radio is going through its own changes; unseen
by the public, its production technology has radically chang
ed. Every new format should be embraced by a library, and so we follow, or
attempt to follow that mandate, while accommodating the attendant upgrades
in technology. What other choice is there?
I think that Keller's assessment of the future of map libraries rings true
because it is from the perspective of the High Tech Powers that be. And
those Powers have the power to wield change, the very type of change that
Keller bravely outlines. Today we just got two new state-of-the-art PC s for
exclusive GIS usage in the Map Room. Alas, they will probably sit as idly as
their predecessors did. The feeling I got from my GIS class was that, if GIS
users couldn't get their data from the web, they were certainly not going to
pursue it at the Library. True, we are a comparatively small institution,
and we are not a research library, but this attitude is indicative of the
methods followed by many students of today - and presumably of the future.
And there is this: Washington State has the dubious honor of proposing that
its State Library be shut down. Yes, shut down and the collections
dispersed. They have already been evicted from their desirable location next
the capitol building, and the materials warehoused. This state is a high
tech heavyweight. Paul Allen's (of Microsoft fame) father was a librarian at
the Univ. of Wash., and he has endowed that institution handsomely. But are
these people really interested in libraries, or are they interested in
alternatives to libraries? They are as sharks, always progressing forward -
but at their (and our) own peril. A few days ago the State Library received
a stay of execution - funding for another year - but then what? Enter a
Champion? This sorry situation is a disturbing precedent that should be a
wake up call - very much in line with Keller's thesis.
Prof. Keller is no prophet of doom, but the elements of truth that he
outlines - whether we want to hear them or not - provide (and here comes the
cliche) the challenge for the future. To me the future is a compromise -
much of it has the appeal of a leaden ball bearing, while much of it still
remains as bright as when I beheld the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle (the
Century 21 Exposition!) as a seven year old. The old Chinese curse states:
'May you live in interesting times'. But, as history has shown, they're all
rather interesting, aren't they?
Apologies for rambling on, and all that...
Sincerely,
Brian
Brian P. Bach
Maps Specialist
Documents/Maps
Central Washington University Library
400 E. 8th Ave.
Ellensburg, WA 98926-7548
USA
[log in to unmask]
>>> [log in to unmask] 03/06/02 01:18PM >>>
--- Begin Forwarded Message ---
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 20:48:30 -0500 (EST)
From: Ken Grabach <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: #38 again <fwd> (fwd)
Sender: Ken Grabach <[log in to unmask]>
Patrick,
your messages on this topic have been very toughtful, and well stated.
Many others in this ongoing and open conversation have been stimulating
food for thought. Thanks to all who are contributing to this thread. I
for one have not been annoyed at the continuation of the discussion.
However, I would amend the characterization of the Federal Depository
program. It is not only a historical source, but continues to provide a
large proportion of my maps collection.
In my experience, the trickle (if it really was one) has resumed to flood
proportions. I still see lots of CD-ROMs of the Open File series, as well
as others, and I have been awaiting a new cabinet to house them. I still
see fiche, also of the Open File series. Titles in the the I series
Miscellaneous Investigations, and GQ series Geologic Quadrangles continue.
Many new editions of Topographic 7.5-minute quadrangles come each month.
In addition some miscellaneous maps and the occasional poster (one on
caves last year, on volcanoes last month) arrive from time to time. The
excellent set of Southeast Asia last year was a surprise, but maybe it
should not have been, even if we are still awaiting two sheets of that
set. I depend on the NIMA World map for various assignments where
students need to locate places with given coordinates. This map works
best of all the world maps I have, because it gives every degree of
latitude and longitude. It is useful as well to demonstrate the
advantages and disadvantages of the Mercator tangential cylindrical
projection.
In short, as far as maps are concerned, the depository program is still a
valuable part of my collection development. This is especially true for
production of the Geological Survey. It is also obvious that, while
electronic versions of mapping and other geospatial information are are on
the rise, printed maps are recognized by government producers as an
important resource and format. In additon, electronic formats are on the
rise.
Again, this commentary is in no way meant as a criticism of the ideas
being discussed.
Ken
___________________________
Ken Grabach <[log in to unmask]>
Maps Librarian Phone: 513-529-1726
Miami University Libraries
Oxford, Ohio 45056 USA
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