Please find attached a piece that has just appeared in the South Carolina Chapter, SLA's "Palmetto Information Notes", vol. 15, number 2, Fall 2000.



David C. McQuillan
Map Librarian
Thomas Cooper Library
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC  29201

Phone:  (803) 777-4723
Fax:  (803) 777-4661
E-mail:  [log in to unmask]


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PHILADELPHIA MEETING
SLA GEOGRAPHY AND MAP DIVISION


"Independence to Interdependence" was the theme for the 91st Annual Conference of the Special Libraries Association.  Held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, next to the historic Reading Railroad Terminal and Market, the conference ran from June 10 to 15, 2000.

Leaving Columbia, SC at noon, I arrived in Philadelphia after 3:00 p.m., checked into the room at Embassy Suites that I was sharing with John Anderson, chair-elect of the Geography and Map Division of SLA, and registered for the conference.  I had time to walk 3 blocks from the convention center to the historic Wanamaker Building, now the Lord & Taylor Department Store.  They were hosting "Grand Court Organ Day 2000" and I was able to hear the closing concert of the day.  The Wanamaker Grand Organ is the world's largest playable musical instrument, weighing 287 tons and consisting of 28,500 pipes and 6 keyboards.  It was quite a sight to see people sitting on the floor of the shoe department and filling every available space along the rails of the balconies overlooking the Grand Court.  Created for the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, it took 13 railroad cars to ship it to Philadelphia.  The day concluded with a 4-hour "Philly Highlights" tour.  The tour included a stop in Fairmount Park, which covers over 8,500 acres on both sides of the Schuylkill River, modern Philadelphia, and colonial neighborhoods and monuments.  We saw the birthplace of our nation, as well as Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and Delaware Riverfront, all attractively lit.  By 10:00 p.m. though, some chose to leave the tour due to the heat and long wait for the last site, the air conditioned Powel House.  Samuel Powel was mayor of Philadelphia when independence was declared  and friend of George and Martha Washington.  After a several block walk to the Embassy Suites, I ate in their TGI Fridays at 11:30 p.m., my first meal since breakfast!

Sunday, June 11 was filled with committee meetings.  The first was the Membership Chairs' Workshop, followed by a board meeting of the G&M Division, a Program Planners Reunion reception, and concluding with dinner at the famous seafood restaurant "Bookbinders."

Monday opened with a General Session that included awards and the taping of a National Public Radio program.  Dorothy McGarry, long-time member of G&M and PAM Divisions of SLA from UCLA, received one of the Hall of Fame Awards.  Susan Di Mattia, President of SLA, introduced David Talbot, Founder, Editor, and CEO of the online magazine "Salon."  He was then interviewed by Terry Gross for later broadcast on her NPR program "Fresh Air." This was followed by a "Mummers" parade to the ribbon cutting opening the exhibits.  A session with the Insurance & Employee Benefits Division and the G&M Division on Business Uses of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was held later in the morning.  After lunch and an opportunity to tour the exhibts, the Petroleum & Energy Resources and G&M Divisions along with the Natural History Caucus presented David Soller, Geologist and Chief, NGMDB, U.S. Geological Survey, who talked about the "National Geologic Map Database."  The G&M Business Meeting followed from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., where Dr. HelenJane Armstrong, University of Florida, received the G&M Honors Award.  A tea was held, in part by the International Relations Committee, in the historic Crystal Tea Room atop the Wanamaker Building, after 5:00 p.m., giving some a brief listen to the Grand Organ.  The day concluded with a fabulous buffet spread throughout the Franklin Institute, sponsored by Factiva.

The first session on Tuesday described the National Ocean Services scanning project for historic nautical charts.  Curtis C. Loy, Coast Survey,NOS, made the presentation.  I gave my annual talk on the most recent International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) conference at noon.  Slides of Singapore; Phuket Island, Thailand; Bangkok, site of the IFLA meetings; Bridge on the River Kwai; and Central and Northern Thailand were used to illustrate the talk.  Bruce Obenhaus, Virginia Tech University, moderated 4 talks in a G&M Division paper session.  The first paper was by Dr. Armstrong, "The Florida Geographic Data Library:  Innovative Grants for GIS Resources"; next was Joanne M. Perry, Pennsylvania State University, "Planning Our Future:  Moving and Storing Map Collections"; then Mary Galneder, University of Wisconsin, "Insuring Map Collections:  Opening a Discussion"; and last was Daniel T. Seldin, Indiana University, "The Library of Congress, Geography & Map Division Special Map Project:  History and Personal Experiences."  After an incoming board meeting for the G&M Division, a field trip was organized to the suburban town of Chestnut Hill.  Members gathered under the rotating guitar of the Hard Rock Café, then boarded a SEPTA commuter train for a half-hour ride to Gravers Station.  From there it was a few short blocks to The Philadelphia Print Shop, purveyors of old maps and prints.  Owner Don Cresswell and his staff treated us to light snacks and sandwiches while we rummaged through his drawers and piles of cartographic treats.  Another SEPTA train took us back downtown.

Wednesday saw the SLA Annual Business Meeting begin the day.  I took a few minutes and rode the elevator to the top of City Hall, 548 feet, to view the city from just below the 37-foot, 27-ton statute of William Penn.  Until 1987 no building was built any higher that the brim of his hat in central Philadelphia.  John R. Hebert, Chief, and Anthony Mullan, G&M Division, Library of Congress, presented their paper "Spanish and Portuguese Manuscript Maps in the Library of Congress" at 11:00 a.m.  After a last tour through the exhibits to make sure I had not missed anything, we heard a session on "Government Mapping Update" with Shawn Garren, CIA Map Library; Beth Duff, U.S.G.S. National Mapping Division; Timothy F. Trainor, Geography Division, Bureau of the Census; and Lynn Tobin, National Imagery and Mapping Agency.  The Free Library of Philadelphia (FLOP) hosted a reception and tour of their map collection from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the library on Logan Square.  Librarian Richard Boardman talked about the map collection and offered examples of their extensive holdings on Philadelphia and their large aerial photographic collection.  A large group finished the day with a meal at one of Philadelphia's fine Italian restaurants, Portofino.

I used the time before my afternoon flight home to visit the historic buildings and sites of colonial Philadelphia.  A visit to the U.S. Mint allowed me to "mint" my own coin and across the street at Ben Franklin's grave, I watched tourists pitch coins on his grave for good luck.  As soon as they left, a pair of "street people" from just around the corner would take an old rolled newspaper and sweep the coins up!  I was also able to ride a tourist trolley past Betsy Ross' House, down "South Street", and through ethnic Italian and Chinese neighborhoods.  A purchase of miniature working Liberty Bells and a memo pad shaped like a world globe completed my shopping spree.  On the way to the airport we passed the site for the upcoming Republican Convention, then only a month and half away, but Philadelphia was already preparing for this much larger convention than SLA!

Next year's meeting is in San Antonio and the 60th Anniversary of the Geography and Map Division.  Make plans now.  Our last meeting there in 1991 was great!