-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: [Fwd: barcoding maps]
Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 08:57:50 +1100
From: "Maura O'Connor" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "'Maps and Air Photo Systems Forum'" <[log in to unmask]>

------------------
Dear Nancy
I can't remember whether I replied to this discussion or not, although I
vaguely remember it being raised.
At the National Library of Australia we systematically barcode our
modern
maps - at the cataloguing stage.  I do not know the brand name, but our
labels are made in Belgium, and measure 4 x 4 cm. The barcode is placed
on
the verso of the map, within the neat lines.  We have not had a problem
of
codes adhering to other maps within their jackets. The barcode number is
recorded in the catalogue record and is used when the item is/whenever
sent
out on Inter-Library Loan, a system we have of loaning library
materials,
between libraries, around Australia .  Modern maps are post-1900
materials.
The Library also has a network of detectors placed at the entrances to
the
building which are activated if the material, with barcodes, is moved
illegally from the building.
We do not apply the barcode to rare maps or aerial photographs.  For
that
material we use a library stamp - the rare maps having a very tiny
stamp,
applied to the verso of the map, again within the neat lines.  Aerial
photographs have a date stamp, which includes the Library's name
similarly
applied.  We have other systems in place, which I won't discuss here,
for
managing the security of this material.
You are welcome to contact me off the list if you need more information.
Yours sincerely
Maura O'Connor
Map Curator
National Library of Australia
CANBERRA   ACT  2617
AUSTRALIA
Phone : 61 2 6262 1280
Fax : 61 2 6262 1653
Email : [log in to unmask]



> ----------
> From:         Johnnie D. Sutherland[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Reply To:     Maps and Air Photo Systems Forum
> Sent:         Tuesday, 14 January 2003 8:22 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      [Fwd: barcoding maps]
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: barcoding maps
> Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 10:46:37 -0500
> From: "nkandoian" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> ------------------
> Greetings and Happy New Year, Maps-L readers!
>
> Below are some comments about barcoding maps that I found after
> searching
> the archives of Maps-L from 1995 to the present.  Does anyone have
> comments
> to add that would help other map collections (e.g. NYPL Map Division)
> planning to implement barcoding?  Can anyone recommend a citation to a
> basic study or primer on barcoding library materials that has some
> application to maps?  Those of you who have had barcoding going on in
> your
> collections for a few years now, what do you have to report on wear and
> tear of the map area where the barcode is placed, especially when the
> paper
> of the map is significantly less durable than the barcode sticker?  And
> what about adhesive migration over time?
>
>    re conservation issues, in 1995, a university map librarian expressed
>    concern about the acidity of barcodes at her institution.  The only
>    relatively neutral ones known by her to be available at that time
>    (Intermec Duratran II) were found to not be durable enough.  There
> was
>    no further comment on her message.
>    re remote storage and retrospective barcoding, in 1997, a map
> librarian
>    preparing segments of his university map collection for remote
> storage
>    decided to barcode folders of maps, rather than individual maps.
>    re barcode placement, in 2000, a university map librarian explained
> that
>    there was a change in her collection from barcoding on the verso of a
>    map (non-printed side in many cases) to barcoding on the recto.  She
>    found the recto preferable, for easy spotting, but acknowledged that
>    their circulation people had to be prepared to look on both sides of
> the
>    maps because of the former policy applied to the earlier batch of
>    materials that were barcoded.
>    re what is barcoded when, in 2002, a map librarian in a Canadian
>    government agency collection indicated that all new Canadian and
>    American sheet maps are barcoded on receipt, whereas other maps are
>    barcoded only when checked out.
>    re conservation issues, in 2002, a university map librarian working
> with
>    aerial photos noted problems with adhesive migration out from behind
>    barcode labels, causing photos to stick together.  Her plan to deal
> with
>    that was to put photos in sleeves and barcode the sleeves.  I did not
>    find any further comment on her message.
>    re barcode placement and the tendency of barcodes on sheet maps to
> make
>    a stack of maps too thick in a drawer that would otherwise be able to
>    comfortably hold a certain sized stack of maps, in 2002, a university
>    map librarian answered an inquiry by saying that "the thickness of
>    barcodes is a non-issue.  They are MUCH thinner than they were five
>    years ago.  You do not really have to worry about staggering their
>    placement unless all the maps in a particular drawer are all the same
>    dimensions."
>    re barcode placement on batches of maps of uniform size (e.g. USGS
> topo
>    quads), in 2002, a university map librarian commented that "we place
>    them on each sheet in a chosen area with a simple variance of a few
>    inches N or S, in a preferred corner of the bottom periphery of each
> map
>    ... sort of controlled randomness ... "
>
> If I've missed something from the archives that you remember, please let
> me/us know.  Additional thoughts/comments/experiences shared will be
> much
> appreciated.
>
> Nancy Kandoian
> Map Division
> New York Public Library
>