-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: Determining Rare Maps
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2013 11:17:38 -0000
From: Francis Herbet <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Joel (and all):
Well, and concisely as possible, put: inevitably brief due to the
enormous variation in institutional holdings (items *and* their
condition both to be considered - only 'like for like' images could help
towards this aspect); the often deplorably ambiguous data quality of
union catalogs (is the item described truly what I have?); the lack of
carto-bibliographies for so many 'significant'/'rare' (etc.)
cartographic materials; and the (perhaps deliberately unannounced)
intentions of the particular holding institution's bosses (weeding to
more secure storage of some items - and/or selling them off once they
'get wind' of their 'value'?).
Francis Herbert (from over the Pond)
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-----Original Message-----
From: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Angie Cope
Sent: 06 March 2013 16:02
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Determining Rare Maps
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Joel Kovarsky" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 8:42:07 AM
Subject: Re: Determining Rare Maps
On 3/6/2013 9:03 AM, Angie Cope wrote:
From Carlos Diaz
On the insurance thread, someone mentioned rare maps, which prompted a
question in my head....how do you determine what is a rare map? What
sources are available, how do you determine value, etc.?
This is quite complex and partly depends on the what one means by rarity
and value. Something can be rare and not commercially valuable or
commercially valuable and not that rare. As to appraisal issues, are you
going to insure everything under a blanket limit, are you going to
insure based on individual valuations (which can fluctuate over time),
or a combination of the two? The latter makes a good bit of sense if you
have a significant (another loaded word) collection with some items
maintained with a vault arrangement.
Are you interested in replacement value, current market value, or
initial cost? How frequently are you going to reassess your valuations?
Some of the institutional decision will most certainly be predicated on
what is available for premiums and how the budget shifts over time. And
the ACRL ethics (keep in mind these are not laws) statements (
http://www.rbms.info/standards/code_of_ethics.shtml ) stipulate that a
librarian should not be involved in the appraisal of their own
material--a posture likely very hard to maintain given the specialized
management skills required, not to mention the knowledge most curators
have of their own collections. This is not to mention the variability in
institutional approaches ( http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/spec272web.pdf ;
this is just the executive summary of a survey).
Having said all this (and not even considering issues of condition,
provenance, and more), since often you need some idea of commercial
value, a couple of sites allow (very) rough approximations:
http://www.oldmaps.com/ (requires payment for use, but this can be
tailored to the frequency of your needs and it encompasses the older
Antique Map Price Record)
www.vialibri.net (probably the best freely accessible metasearch engine
for out-of-print materials, including some maps; it includes many
databases that can be selected)
http://www.bookpricescurrent.com/Default.aspx (also by subscription, and
some institutions already have this; would be better for maps within
intact books) There are all sorts of pitfalls here and my remarks just
scratch the surface. Numerous dealers offer appraisals. Those that offer
free appraisals over the net often (and with good reason) stipulate that
their estimates are not for valuation purposes with respect to an
individual map or collection.
Joel Kovarsky
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