-------- Original Message --------
Subject: US Topo - how to provide access to "A New Generation of USGS Maps"
Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:59:25 -0500
From: John A Stevenson <[log in to unmask]>
Organization: University of Delaware
To: MAPS-L <[log in to unmask]>

Dear Colleagues,

In December 2009, Richard Huffine announced "a new series of digital
topographic maps, called US TOPO, that will be produced on a 3-year
cycle for the entire conterminous United States" to MAPS-L. His post
generated discussion at the time, but since then, there seem to be no
postings regarding library practices to help users access the new
topographic maps online.

To provide access to printed maps, library users may be shown an index
map and asked to identify areas of interest. Library staff may locate
quadrangles showing those areas. This process works if users have some
sense that the library can help them. What's the best way to do this?

With the 7.5-minute paper topos, US GPO created map serial records for
each state, allowing libraries to load records and attach holdings on an
ongoing basis. GPO staff also attempted to catalog each edition of each
quadrangle. For many libraries, these records provided choices and many
libraries used the map serial records to provide general access to the
collections and printed indexes to pinpoint areas of interest.

In July 2010, the GPO started cataloging and archiving the new PDF
files. About 280 may now be accessed through CGP (GPO's catalog) at
http://catalog.gpo.gov/ using the advanced search SuDoc Call Number =
I 19.81: AND W-URL= http (an LC subject heading word, such as a state
name, may be added to make this more useful.) Each US Topo map has a
record and a unique PURL is assigned to link to the file archived on
GPO's server. Linking the PURL to the archived copy should allow
retrieval of the specific edition even after if it were removed from the
USGS site.

As I see it, the only down side to this archival cataloging is that
users seeking newly-created current editions may not find them or be
aware of their existence. The US Topo site links to The USGS Store
graphical index. It's possible to find both the 1993 and 2010 editions
for Beaver, PA (which has been cataloged by GPO. The nearby Ambridge, PA
quadrangle cannot be located in CGP because it lacks a record at this
time. Likewise, users seeking a topo for Avon, NY won't find it in CGP
(even when it's cataloged) because the quadrangle name is Rush, NY. To
help users locate maps without a printed index, would it be better to
point users to a point of entry such as the US Topo page, the USGS Store
page, or somewhere else?

I'd like to start a discussion of how libraries can make these easy for
the public to use. If anyone doesn't want to post to a discussion, I'd
be happy to summarize private responses.

John
--
John A. Stevenson
Associate Librarian
Coordinator, Government Documents and Maps Processing Unit
University of Delaware Library
181 S. College Ave.
Newark, DE 19717-5267
302 831-8671
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