-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        GIS and libraries
Date:   Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:03:14 +1100
From:   Martin Woods <[log in to unmask]>
To:     [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>



The National Library of Australia has been digitising its older sheet
maps for 8 years, and has digitised over 15,000 items to date. We are
now commencing to digitise our holdings of Australian imperial series
mapping, created in the first half of the twentieth century and
desirable for family and community history and a variety of
environmental and other uses. Australian nationally produced layers are
mainly,
8 inch – 1940s
4 inch – 1940s-50s
2 inch – 1932-41, 1949
1 inch – 1912-1940s
In all possibly somewhat less than 20,000 sheets. Included in the total,
each map sheet within a series may have editions, and there are
sometimes states within editions, a complicating factor.
It is likely that for the time being, these will simply be linked to a
bibliographic record as we have done previously, providing good textual
access, however as we are in the mood for experimenting with online
indexes, I am interested in whether people think it is worth using GIS
to develop and deliver series maps, vs a simpler HTML index approach,
and if they have preferred software. One approach is obviously more
labour intensive, but gives potentially more applications, layers etc,
the other is easier to deliver and less costly. In very brief, is that
about it?
I have been able to find very little on the topic actually assessing
alternatives other than Chris Fleet’s very useful paper in 2006:
_http://www.e-perimetron.org/Vol_1_2/Fleet/Fleet.pdf_
*With apologies for cross-posting
Dr Martin Woods,Curator of Maps
National Library of Australia
Tel: +61 2 6262 1280 Fax: +61 2 6262 1653
Email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>