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I'll take a stab at this.
 
This library has niether a Unix box, nor a lot of staff.  It's just
me, the maps, some very good students (this year) and a Pentium
running a 10-user Novell 3.11 LAN, not cutting edge for a GIS lab,
not bad for a one person library.
 
That said, what about those DRGs?  I opened the Hartford North Quad
off of the "Capitols" CD in MapInfo and overlaid it with the TIGER and
1:24,000 data available on MAGIC.  It was a non-event.  Duane Marble
noted to this List back in the Fall, "who is going to use this stuff, and for
what?"  I guess they might do digitizing, or use it as a backdrop,
bits and pieces for illustrations and control location points for air
photos.  Maybe we should be looking at developing strategies for printing
these suckers, I shudder to think about that.
 
We can bemoan the trend to put everything into digital format, but
that's not going to help us solve the problem of getting this new
format of old information to the users.  Yes, we are behind the
curve.  Yes, we do need training.  Yes, one and two day sessions at
ALA in Hawaii are NOT going to get us over the hump.  But there is a
lot of training to be had out there.  The NCGIA recommended core curricula
provides a GIS Certificate. (See http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/education/ed.html)
This ia a long term commitment, but not a masters.  Some more intensive training
can be had from software companies like ESRI and MapInfo.  These one week
sessions are intensive, cover the basics and more, and are effective.
They are aimed at the user community, often business.  They have to
deliver.  They are held regularly at sites around the country, in
fact, the world (See: http://www.mapinfo.com/software/training/training.html
and http://www.esri.com/services/services.html)  This does not mean
we have to get another master's degree, just training.  For what it's
worth, it's probably tax deductible.
 
If those DOQQs, TIGER, DRGs and other disks are piling up, catalog them and
let them pile up on the shelf.  Libraries are all about piling stuff
up... in an orderly arrangement.  What I have been doing is
cataloging the CD and extracting the Connecticut data, mounting that
on the server.  It is the most used data for my client group.  That's
collection development.  Not every book, map or disk in the library is active
enough to be in  a Reserve Room, or on a 14 day turn-around.
 
I am more concerned about the 'non-map' geo-spatial data, such as the
Cooperative Summary of the Day data.  This is extremely important
data and difficult data for the user to get into any kind of system, including
a geographic system.  Climate data has been a step-child for years.
This data is point, not line data, non-cartographic and voluminous.  It
includes various evaporation, precipitation, snow, and air and
soil temperature elements.  The period of record varies among stations
but falls within the period from the 1850s through 1993.
As far as I know this data, unlike the DRGs, is not readily available
in paper.
 
Finally, how do we 'help ourselves'  At this point in time, I think
the regional approach is better than a national approach.  I think it
is possible for a number of librarians to contact ESRI or MapInfo, or
a consulting firm and have them tailor a training session just for
librarians, at a cost.
 
Alright, that's my take.  I don't think I solved the DRG problem
specifically, but that's because I think the solution is more
systemic.  I tend to take sanctuary in library science, looking for
systemic problems and solutions.
 
Thanks for your attention,
 
Patrick McGlamery
Map Librarian
Map and Geographic Information Center
Homer Babbidge Library
Storrs, CT 06268
TEL: (860) 486-4589
FAX: (860) 486-3593