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I recently took the reigns of a moderate sized corporate map library (10,000
books, 1,800 atlases, 70,000 sheets).  My task is to bring the library into the
computer age.  My problem is that none of the items have ever been classified or
catalogued.  There isn't even a shelf list!  Items are currently shelved
alphabetically by world region and then by country e.g. Africa: a-z; Asia a-z;
etc.  Eventually, every item will be classified, marked-up and barcoded, and
catalogued on a system accessible to everyone in the company.
 
My first step is to determine which classification scheme to use.  The field is
wide open.  Ultimately I would like to accomplish this with out having to move
items around in order to fit into the classification scheme.  Moving items in
great amounts would not be practical, most of my patrons would no longer be able
to find frequently used items in a familiar place (some items and some patrons
have been around in this library for the last 30 years).
 
I am open to any creative suggestions.  If you were in my shoes, what would you
do?
 
Quinn R. Koller          [log in to unmask]
Map Librarian            (717) 293-7477
Geosystems Global Corp.