----------------------------Original message----------------------------
HelenJane,
 
          the problem is interesting alright, and you didn't even get
          to the personal liability part! i like your solution and
          will incorporate it into the WAML master homepage.
          Maps of abandoned mines could be in this catagory, too.
         LC
 
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
I was interested to read the message from Jon Hagee about cavers and cave
maps.  There are a number of caves and caves with springs/rivers in Florida
that cavers and cave divers use.  We had to make a decision several decades
ago as to whether we would collect maps of these areas for the Map & Imagery
Library.  This was an interesting acquistion decision to make since the
University of Florida library has the major map collection in the state.  We
try to collect as many maps of Florida as possible.
 
However, each year there are deaths in the state amony cavers and divers.
Many of these are divers who are unfamiliar with cave diving and just try
to locate a spring and dive in its caves without checking with experts.  Cave
diving is a sport in which a significant amount of special training is needed
and even then we have lost a number of experienced divers in the past two
decades.
 
The state of Florida has sunshine laws and requirements to provide open access
to most of its materials in public facilities.  This complicates the matter as
to whether we would acquire the cave and spring maps.  Our solution is not
totally satisfactory, however currently we maintain a list of contacts of
local cavers and cave diving groups to which we refer people.  Because of our
work with this community, we can usually tell people if maps do exist and how
they can obtain them from legitimate sources.  This greatly helps us to
provide service to the annual "snow birds" who lack the necessary experience
but have just enough knowledge to be a danger to themselves.  The person
needing the maps for research and not the sport is provided with another
contact.
 
I would be very interested in learning how others handle this type of spec-
ialized maps in public institutions.  The collecting of maps of archeological
sites which have not yet been studied has presented a similar problem.  This
has all sorts of side issues of censorship, a library's mission and service
to the people that fund it and its role in protecting people and artifacts
from other people.  Of course in this day and age of Internet access a new
set of issues are developing in this type of situation.
 
As I said I am interested in how others have handled the situation as you
probally tell we are as yet unsatisfied with any of the possible stances that
have been suggested or attempted.  The debate now is to whether we will collect
the original cave maps once they are no longer useful for the sport but of
interest for the historical researcher.
 
HelenJane Armstrong, Map & Imagery Library, University of qFlorida.