Below is a somewhat random forwarding of an email from lis-maps - but I
thought I'd point out that some powerpoint presentations are online from
the LIBER conference in Amsterdam where the theme was: /The Future of
the Map Library and the Map Librarian.
Begin your adventure here: /
http://liber.gdc.2008.googlepages.com/
/
/
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Search interfaces for on-line map libraries -- examples of
good practice
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 18:30:16 +0100
From: Fleet, Christopher <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: A forum for issues related to map & spatial data
librarianship <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
References: A<[log in to unmask]>
Hi Humphrey,
This is just a quick and partial answer to your first question, having
just seen a few map websites demonstrated last week at the LIBER
Conference in Amsterdam that are along the lines you describe:
1. The Royal Tropical Institute has 12,000 maps accessible through a
text-based, geo-referenced search engine:
http://testbiblio.kit.nl/biblio_smartsite/maps_search.htm
2. The DIGMAP Project has several tools and prototypes for textual and
visual searching of geo-referenced maps: http://www.digmap.eu/doku.php
3. The Carto-Mundi Mediterranean Map Library website also allows
zoomable map-based searching of geo-referenced graphic indexes:
http://cartomed.mmsh.univ-aix.fr/index_EN.html
Abstracts and some of the Powerpoints relating to these sites are on the
LIBER Conference website: http://liber.gdc.2008.googlepages.com/
Chris
Chris Fleet
Deputy Map Curator
National Library of Scotland
33 Salisbury Place
EDINBURGH
EH9 1SL
United Kingdom.
Tel. 0131 623 3973
Fax. 0131 623 3971
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
View maps website: http://www.nls.uk/maps
-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for issues related to map & spatial data librarianship
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Humphrey Southall
Sent: 09 July 2008 14:59
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Search interfaces for on-line map libraries -- examples of good
practice
Many members of this list are familiar with the Vision of Britain web
site, and some of you have helped build it by loaning us maps. It
contains images of many historical maps, but it is not really a map
library: the historical maps are linked together into a small number of
continuous mosaics, and treated as GIS content.
We are now working on a major new version of the system, with JISC
funding, and we want it to work as an on-line map library while
retaining the current functionality:
<> We have worked out how to hold all the metadata about the maps, as
used by our MapServer software, in a single database table so that it
can be conventionally searched.
<> Where maps have been cropped and, sometimes, re-projected to be parts
of mosaics, we will also hold an uncropped and un-re-projected image of
the map. These images will be viewable using IIPimage software.
<> Some of the maps, such as the maps of towns in the 1831/2 Boundary
Commission report, are too topographically inaccurate to re-project,
etc, but EVERY map in the collection will be basically geo-referenced
via a bounding box.
<> At present, going to our "Historical Mapping" option takes you
straight into a viewer. In the new site it will take you to a
specialised home page, like those for census reports and travel writing.
This will tell you about the collection, and include a way into the
viewer, but it will also allow you to search for maps.
Where we need help is on that search mechanism. The idea is that users
should be able to do searches on the purely textual information held in
our "map catalogue" database table, just like the searches they could do
on a traditional card catalogue, but they should also be able to narrow
searches making use of the fact that every map will be geo-referenced.
For example, we could include a zoomable map on that page, and use the
area it currently shows as a bounding box to limit the current search.
CAN LIST MEMBERS SUGGEST EXISTING MAP LIBRARY SITES WITH THIS KIND OF
FEATURE?
We are also thinking about including a simple classification of our map;
what we currently hold can be divided roughly into:
-- General topographic maps
-- Maps of political and administrative boundaries
-- Land use mapping
Are there any standards we should be following here?
The current contents of the system is basically:
-- OS New Popular 1" maps of GB
-- OS First Series 1" maps of GB
-- Stamp Land Utilisation Survey 1" maps of GB
... in all cases together with less detailed maps of the same date and
topic. The new system will add, primarily:
-- GSGS mapping of the whole of Europe at 1:500,000 scale
-- A fairly complete set of British administrative area maps, excluding
those still within OS copyright and including all the maps in the
Parliamentary Boundary Commission reports
The extension of our infrastructure to cover the whole of Europe means
we could add a great deal more, given further funding. Our general aim
is not to include the unique gems in our existing paper map collection
(because we do not have one), but rather to provide a really useful
reference collection, integrated with other geographical information --
although we are STILL looking for a good descriptive gazetteer of
Europe.
With thanks for whatever suggestions you can make,
Humphrey Southall
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