-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Re: Outsourcing the Catologing of Cartographic Materials
Date:   Thu, 12 Jul 2012 07:58:57 +0100 (BST)
From:   A CARLUCCI <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To:       A CARLUCCI <[log in to unmask]>
To:     Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship
<[log in to unmask]>



Hello again

Paige, James and Kathy have hit the important points regarding
outsourcing. In particular, when it comes to cataloging of antiquarian
maps and how long it takes, again, a lot of good advice has already been
offered. I would just add from my experience/observation, that it's also
important to avoid the temptation to do a lot of research while
cataloging antiquarian maps. Sure, you need to do some research in order
to get details such as the cartographer correct, but too much research
means the cataloging output will be very low and you'll end up with a
big backlog of expensive/rare items that nobody is able to access.
Instructions to my catalogers always included the caveat that if the
librarian does all the research for the catalog record, then there won't
be any work left for the historians of cartography to do. And we
certainly wouldn't want that to happen....

April

April Carlucci
The Itinerant Map Catalog(u)er
and
Consulting Map Librarian

------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* "Angie Cope, American Geographical Society Library, UW
Milwaukee" <[log in to unmask]>
*To:* [log in to unmask]
*Sent:* Friday, 6 July 2012, 13:58
*Subject:* Re: Outsourcing the Catologing of Cartographic Materials

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Outsourcing the Catologing of Cartographic Materials
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2012 05:26:35 +0000
From: Kathy Weimer <[log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
To: Angie Cope, American Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee
<[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>

Greg,

We had a contract to catalog a number of maps just a couple of years ago
with TechPro.  I was extremely unimpressed with the quality.  The types of
errors were both basic (lots of random typos, transcription/spelling
errors) and also cartographic.  There were many times when it was clear
that they really didn't know anything about maps or cartography! We sent
them maps of all types - but mostly 20th century and some reproductions of
historic maps.  Errors were numerous - for example, they used the scale as
given on a reproduction (a reduced facsimile - an obvious no-no), and a
few times took the coordinates as shown on the map even though the map was
using the Washington meridian (just a minor difference???) They sometimes
switched the order of the coordinates (didn't know E/W and N/S and
sometimes skipped the 255 but transcribed them in the 034. A few times had
"Scale not given" when there was a bar scale right there, etc. etc.  We
documented the errors, reported them to our contract manager then they
corrected and updated the records for us... Efficient?? Not! We could have
done the work ourselves - and this was expensive!  They had turnover there
and changes in both the catalog staff member and mid level contract
manager, which also didn't help matters.  We had minor damage on a few
shipments - they did not always use all of our packing material on the
return shipment so the sheets would shift and curl at the edges.  This was
a few years ago, so things may have changed, but if you do venture into a
contract, ask for a sample of work (i.e. your maps) before committing to a
full contract and do make sure to review the sample records very closely
and report any errors.  My general advice - hire someone and do it
in-house - you will have more control, no physical damage and you can
train the individual directly.

Good luck!

Kathy


Katherine H. Weimer

Associate Professor
Co-Editor, Journal of Map and Geography Libraries
Curator of Maps
Coordinator, Map & GIS Library
Texas A & M University Libraries
5000 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-5000
(979) 845-6588
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
<applewebdata:[log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.
edu>





On 7/5/12 8:51 AM, "Angie Cope, American Geographical Society Library, UW
Milwaukee" <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:

  >-------- Original Message --------
  >Subject: RE: Outsourcing the Catologing of Cartographic Materials
  >Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2012 13:45:40 +0000
  >From: March, Greg <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
  >To: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship
  ><[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
  >
  >
  >Thanks Paige!  This is very helpful information to have when I meet with
  >people in our cataloging department.  I really appreciate it!
  >
  >-Greg
  >
  >Gregory H. March
  >Associate Professor
  >Map/GIS Librarian and
  >Head of Map Services
  >University of Tennessee
  >G21A Hodges Library
  >Knoxville, TN 37996
  >865-974-3878 (phone)
  >865-974-3925 (fax)
  >
  >
  >-----Original Message-----
  >From: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship
  >[mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On
Behalf Of Angie Cope, American
  >Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee
  >Sent: Monday, July 02, 2012 8:51 AM
  >To: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
  >Subject: Re: Outsourcing the Catologing of Cartographic Materials
  >
  >-------- Original Message --------
  >Subject: Re: Outsourcing the Catologing of Cartographic Materials
  >Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2012 14:09:58 -0400 (EDT)
  >From: Paige G Andrew <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
  >To: Air Photo Maps, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship
  ><[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
  >
  >
  >Hi Greg,
  >
  >Sorry for the delay in replying, I am STILL not caught up on
  >conference-related things! I sure hope others are. So, here it is on the
  >weekend and I'm trying to clear up several things.
  >
  >Outsourcing the cataloging of cartographic materials -- there really is
  >only one viable option, and its an expensive one that doesn't net you
  >the best of records ("useable", "average" are a couple of words that
  >come to mind from my experience), and that is OCLC's retrocon service.
  >Here at Penn State in the late 1990s/early 2000s I coordinated a project
  >to get all of our city maps from Pennsylvania and the surrounding six
  >states cataloged by outsourcing them to OCLC (the project was of course
  >run by our Cataloging and Metadata Services Department's head and
  >assistant head, they took care of things like the budget stuff,
  >higher-level communication between us and OCLC initially, communication
  >up the organization from within, etc.). I would have to dig to see if I
  >even have any dollar figures available, keeping in mind that its been
  >about ten years ago, whether for the entire project or per-record, or
  >other. My post outsourcing thoughts gather around a couple of things;
  >the over!
  >  all quality of the work done at the bib. record level on their end,
  >and for the project as a whole.
  >
  >Starting with the bib. records, and you know I am a pretty picky and
  >high-detailed maps cataloger, I was not too happy with the outcomes. I
  >did have a good line of communication with the person doing the
  >cataloging on OCLC's end for our project, and he was very amenable to
  >either my suggestions for changes or my outright request in specific
  >cases. But, I felt like some things were often overlooked when they
  >should not have been, though I would say that outright errors were
  >minimal. Mostly it was information *lacking* that made me have to step
  >in and do additional work at times. That said, I do know that the
  >catalogers at OCLC don't necessarily specialize in specific formats of
  >materials (unless that has changed in the meantime) and thus I think the
  >lack of experience with map cataloging showed in the results.
  >
  >As for the overall experience with OCLC, I think it was positive. As
  >noted above I had a very good line of communication with the fellow
  >cataloger. In addition the "red tape" side of things, filling out forms,
  >tweaking profiles to fit our needs, and so forth, was positive, the
  >folks at OCLC were timely in their replies and provided good
  >explanations when needed.
  >
  >However, whenever you have another person or organization doing the work
  >for you, in instantly lose control over the ability to make changes in a
  >timely manner. Changes to workflow (e.g., let's say you decided you
  >wanted to only have your Tennessee city maps cataloged, and then a
  >couple of months later you decide to also add doing all the Tennessee
  >maps, this kind of change takes time to propose, work around from both
  >ends, etc., until implementation), changing the specifics you want
  >included or not included at the record level, and even the reality that
  >at a moment's notice the budget for the project might be cut suddenly --
  >all of these mean it takes more time to do because you aren't able to
  >sit down with a supervisor and maybe an administrator quickly and make
  >decisions and then begin implementing them. That can be frustrating at a
  >minimum, and more costly at a maximum, because as we all know time is
  >money.
  >
  >I would hedge my bet and say that if one has a relatively small and
  >focused project in mind, with the budget to see it completely through,
  >then perhaps outsourcing is a viable alternative. But, if the idea is to
  >outsource a major part of a collection to get the cataloging done, or
  >the entire collection (or remainder thereof), and you have the capable
  >cataloger(s) to do the work, you will end up with a better result, for
  >less money, in the long run.
  >
  >Are there other persons or companies that take on outsourcing
  >cartographic materials cataloging? Well, I know in the 1990s there was a
  >person I believe in Virginia that started such a company but a few years
  >later folded. Outside  of OCLC I don't know of any others, though there
  >may be one or more, and I trust others on this list can fill in the
  >blanks for me.
  >
  >Hope this helps.
  >
  >Your friendly, neighborhood maps cataloger,
  >
  >Paige
  >
  >----- Original Message -----
  >From: "Angie Cope, American Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee"
  ><[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
  >To: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
  >Sent: Friday, June 29, 2012 11:05:09 AM
  >Subject: Outsourcing the Catologing of Cartographic Materials
  >
  >-------- Original Message --------
  >Subject:        Outsourcing the Catologing of Cartographic Materials
  >Date:  Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:01:00 +0000
  >From:  March, Greg <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
  >To: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
<[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
  >
  >
  >
  >Hello,
  >
  >Would anyone be willing to offer any opinions, advice, personal
  >experiences related to outsourcing the cataloging of cartographic
  >materials? Any input you can offer would be very much appreciated.
  >
  >Thank you!
  >
  >-Greg
  >
  >Gregory H. March
  >
  >Associate Professor
  >
  >Map/GIS Librarian and
  >
  >Head of Map Services
  >
  >University of Tennessee
  >
  >G21A Hodges Library
  >
  >Knoxville, TN 37996
  >
  >865-974-3878 (phone)
  >
  >865-974-3925 (fax)