----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Brendan Whyte" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "mapsL" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, May 7, 2010 12:25:31 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central
Subject: ONC maps



The TPC series tends to get more use, but the ONCs are useful for areas where TPCs are not available, and they offer a cheap, usually copyright free and rather pretty map (we get austrlaian-issued sheets on deposit, which are not copyright free).
The large sheet size is an advantage in making it easy to pull out one map and not have a patron then say, oh I really need the next sheet over.

The copyright-free aspect made them much more useful than national mapping series when patrons whip out a camera or demand a xerox.

The varous editions of some sheets, esp. those in the iddle East are useful for historical studies of boundary and infrastructure changes.

I have certainly used all editions of specific sheets in my own research.

So not a high use-level item compared to some other series, but very useful. I think you would rapidly regret disposing of them.


Dr Brendan Whyte
Assistant Map Curator
National Library of Australia
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