----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Hi, Mary, this may be covered under one of the other items on the list, but
I made myself a scale calculation spreadsheet, which converts graphic scale
distances to a representative fraction.  Saves me a lot of time.
 
And maybe some mention could be made about the size of surface needed to
view a paper map, although having a mobile keyboard/"notebook" would cover
that nicely.--Lori
 
 
 
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>The next meeting of this group will be on Saturday, July 6, 8-9pm, at SHER,
>Madison Suite 2.  The topic of discussion will be: "The Ideal Work Station/Area
>for Cataloging Cartographic Materials."  If you can't attend and are interested
>in the topic, do send me your additions to this list.
>
>
>Required:
>All that currently is available to catalogers in libraries now:
>- - access to substantial numbers of records online (through OCLC),
>- - Library of Congress Name Authority and Subject Authority Files,
>- - Catalogers Desktop,
>- - Library of Congress Classification Schedules (to be out sometime this
year),
>- - fields in order that makes cataloging easy, rather than in order that
>database
>structure permits;
>- - and
>so forth.
>
>Plus the following:
>a. live background map,
>b. ability to locate north arrow on the item
>c. ability to find distances from any one point to any other given point
>d. the ADL Gazetteer for checking place names, getting correct forms, and
>obtaining coordinates
>e. ability quickly and easily to convert the coordinates given on maps (which
>are always in degrees/minutes/seconds) to the decimal degrees required by
>Alexandria
>f. spell-checking
>g. online digital data: use PURL (Persistent URL software) for the location of
>items available over the Web.
>h. training for spatial-data catalogers in image processing and geographic
>information systems software, aimed toward the particular uses catalogers need.
>i. multilevel description
>Sheet-level/frame-level access is essential, since users request items at that
>level, rather than needing to see every sheet in a series.
>For sheets in any given series, or for frames in any given flight, the
following
>is needed:
>        i. ability to scan in item: maps can easily be up to 4 feet by 5 feet,
>and be very detailed, all of which makes considerable demands on a scanning.
>Ideally, one would want to be able to put in digital form each of the separates
>that were used for printing the map, or be able to separate out the various
>layers of information after scanning, in order that users would be able to
>manipulate the information in each layer.
>        ii. ability to link record to other records - parent to child, host to
>part, one edition to other editions, one physical format to another physical
>format.
>j. indexes for air-photo flights and map series: These indexes are extremely
>important items; they need to be put in digital form, and if possible used both
>for a user to request a given frame/sheet, and for the library to check in the
>frames/sheets it has.
>k. retrospective cataloging of large map and air-photo collections: Ways to do
>this expeditiously would be warmly welcomed by map libraries.  For example,
with
>map collections, one hauls the maps to the computer terminal.  Given the
>relative weights of the materials involved, it would seem more sensible to haul
>the terminal to the maps.
>l. legend as part of metadata
>m. header as part of metadata
>n. being able to generate subject headings from coordinates, and coordinates
>from subject headings
>o. automatic extraction of metadata
>p. idea of concatenated fields in USMARC
>q. ease of cataloging for the non-cataloger
>
>
>
>Mary Larsgaard
>chair, NOTIS/Ameritech SIG CM
>
>
Lori Sugden, Map Curator, Map Library, University of Victoria,
Dept. of Geography, Box 3050, Victoria, B.C., Canada V8W 3P5
Internet, [log in to unmask]; phone (604) 721-7356; fax (604) 721-6216