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Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 09:20:01 -0500
From: "David A. Cobb" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Cdn. Depositories for USGS Topographic Maps
Sender: "David A. Cobb" <[log in to unmask]>
 
 
 
 
Colleagues -
 
While I certainly agree with Tim's statement below I believe that most of
these decisions have been made or are being made based on tangible and
limited financial resources. One of the questions that has not been
addressed is how many U.S. institutions were receiving Canadian maps.
 
Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, are the intangible benefits that
these maps bring back to the depositing government/country. I have been
involved with Canadian depositories from the beginning of my "map career"
when I was at the University of Vermont long ago. The University had, and
continues to support, a distinguished Canadian Studies Program which made
significant use of the Canadian maps in the Library. Similarly, our
Canadian collection here at Harvard receives continual use for serious
research (currently ecological and geological) as well as recreational
research for canoe and hunting trips.
 
Having these maps in a university collection allows research and travel to
occur that, in all likelihood, would not happen if these cartographic
resources were not available for initial research questioning and for
further research endeavors involving research grants and publishing that
can only benefit Canada in the future. Short range tangible decisions often
have negative long range implications that are not foreseen. I suspect that
we are involved here with "much ado about nothing" and, with some
forethought, it will become apparent that cutting off U.S. institutions
from the Canadian map depository program results in very little savings but
will result in a decreasing interest among U.S. researchers and
recreationists. It seems to be an unfortunate lose/lose situation.
 
David Cobb
At 01:55 PM 3/10/99 -0800, Tim Ross wrote:
>
>Charles:
>
>I was the compiler of the Directory of Canadian Map Collections, 6th ed.,
>1992.
>
>Of the 21 institutions receiving USGS maps on deposit, 7 had "full"
>status, meaning that they received all areas, all scales.
>
>Since the Americans are generous enough to donate these maps to Canadian
>institutions, without fees of any kind (although Canada Post has attempted
>to assess duty on some of our shipments in the past), it would be
>neighbourly of NRCan to at least supply Canadian 1:50,000 sheets to those
>US libraries which pay the prescribed subscription fee.
>
>
>               - Tim
>
>*****************************************************************************
>Tim Ross, Map Librarian
>University of British Columbia Library
>1956 Main Mall,  Vancouver, BC   V6T 1Z1
>Tel: (604) 822-6191    Fax: (604) 822-5366
>Electronic mail:  [log in to unmask]
>***************************************************************************
***
>
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David A. Cobb                                   E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Harvard Map Collection                          HTTP://icg.harvard.edu/~maps
Harvard University                              Tel: (617) 495-2417
Cambridge, MA 02138                             FAX: (617) 496-0440
                           VE * RI * TAS
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