-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: cataloging facsimiles of early maps
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:19:29 -0500
From: Grabach, Kenneth A. Mr. <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Joel,
My policy for what to include in the local catalog is this: Do I want my users to know what I have? Do I want to know what I have? If the answer to either question is yes, then I include it in the catalog. The 'value' of facsimiles is dealt with like the value of any other item I would choose to purchase. Does this map fit into my collection needs? Here, if the answer is no, then I will not purchase the item. Those that I have purchased, I purchased because they were a worthwhile addition to the library maps collection. I have recognized a demand for mapping and aerial views of various places.
Here are just two examples:
Located in southwest Ohio, we are in the Ohio River and Great Miami River valleys. Our area was part of the early settlement of the region west of the Allegheny Mountains. Thus, I have an interest in early mapping of Ohio, of views of river cities and other important cities on the navigable waterways of the interior of the continent.
We have a center that conducts research on Russia and the regions of the former Soviet Union. Thus I have facsimiles of important Russian cities (Moscow and Saint Petersburg, for example) and the mapping of the Russian frontier that is now Central Asia.
I cannot afford to purchase original maps; facsimiles are at least as satisfactory as the web based imagery I can find (and it is worthwhile, too). These items are important resources within my maps collection, and they have been used for displays as well as maps for research needs.
It is also worthwhile to have examples of some of the significant cartography of the past. Again, I cannot afford many of these, and some (Waldseemuller's map of the Americas) is not even available for purchase. But facsimiles are available of Blaue's, Ortelius's maps, and of the work of the Cassini family in France.
Finally, facsimiles of a very high quality both of printing and of paper, are available at not very high prices. The items from Historic Urban Plans of Ithaca, New York, are good examples. I cannot find online examples of some of these, and they would be pirated if I tried to print them. It is a lot of effort to create a file suitable to print, and the print quality would not be very good. Can you make a good facsimile from a web image on high quality paper for less than $25.00, counting your salary for the time spent? I can't. I buy them for less. I have linked to open source images when they are available, such as of the Library of Congress's collection, for a copy of the original.
If it is a useful map, then I have added it. If it is in the collection, it is worthwhile to have a catalog record of it.
Ken Grabach <[log in to unmask]>
Maps Librarian Phone: 513-529-1726
Miami University Libraries
Oxford, Ohio 45056 USA
-----Original Message-----
From: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Angie Cope
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 11:50 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: cataloging facsimiles of early maps
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: cataloging facsimiles of early maps
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:46:33 -0500
From: Joel Kovarsky <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]>
I am trying to get a sense of various library policies regarding
cataloging facsimiles of 15th-18th century maps. This is not a question
as to the cataloging method, but rather what criteria go into a decision
to put this into an electronic (online) catalog at all. For very large,
major repositories, it would seem that these would simply take up space
without providing any major value. I see some facsimiles cataloged in
WorldCat, but wonder about a policy of just keeping the electronic
record at a local level. There are obviously several issues involved
(and likely any number of others I haven't mentioned):
1. It could spare handling of an original.
2. If one doesn't have the original, at least you have something.
3. If it is a poor facsimile, i.e. likely not a true facsimile at
all, then why bother? In this situation, the facsimile might be
worse than nothing. (Would also considering that one would seriously
prefer facsimiles with good source details for the original.)
4. If the original map is already available online via a major
database with a maneuverable image, why bother cataloging the
facsimile at a local level?
5. It takes up space needed for other materials.
6. Given some ambivalence in this process, if one were to go ahead,
should the electronic record be held at the local level, and not
loaded into WorldCat (if not there already)?
Pardon my ignorance in this, but I have been asked to make some
decisions regarding a group of facsimile maps (that I have not yet fully
evaluated). I have some existing bias here, but would like to hear a bit
more diversity of opinion from this group.
Joel Kovarsky
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