----------------------------Original message----------------------------
On Mon, 13 May 1996, Alex Barker wrote:
 
> Please forgive me if this is a naive question, but it would simplify the
> lives of the folks who use our maps if they could use a computer to
> determine which map they need--perhaps they could click on an onscreen map
> location and have the topographic map they need listed.
 
I believe so and have been working several months on exactly such
a program.  What I've been working on amounts to a dynamic,
interactive index map.  There are a number of problems I've
encountered.  First is that rapidly generating the base map is
non trivial when you can go from a whole world view down to an
area of several miles.  At the latter end, quite a bit of detail
is needed to provide sufficient reference points.
 
The second issue is that paper index maps typically only cover
one, or a very few, homogenous series.  When you try to display
variety of series from a large collection (I'm working with the
AGS catalog plucked from geodex), the display rapidly degenerates
into a muddle.  I'm currently exploring ways to use a textual
listing of maps covering in tandem with a graphical display.
 
Any brilliant insights into this are most welcome!
 
The other direction I'd like to take this is to wire it up as a
z39.50 client.  If a traditional MARC based catalog were equipped
with an efficient coordinate index, and accurate coordinate
information were present in the records, you could have precicse
coordinate searching and graphical browsing while still being
able to leverage the benefits of shared cataloging through
services such as OCLC or WLN and whatever other benefits of
sharing the catalog with the rest of the institution bring.
After all, maps are just the tip of the iceberg when you start
taking about the utility of georeferencing information.
 
-john
 
== [log in to unmask] ===========================================
== http://fallout.campusview.indiana.edu/~jfieber ================