-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: [MAPS-L] MAPS-L: map collections in open stacks question
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 14:31:40 +0100
From: Carlucci, April <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Hello John
I think many/most would shudder at the thought of open access, but I'm
sure your administrators want cold and hard facts rather than shudders.
Don't know that I have cold and hard facts, but here are some thoughts.
The attraction of open access to people who don't know better (admin) is
the thought of saving the cost of staff to retrieve and replace the
maps, in addition to the well-frightening idea of saving money by
letting users root around to find their maps/answers without using those
'expensive' subject specialists. The counters to this are:
• Users are unlikely to be able to put the map back in its correct
place, in effect losing the map for future users;
• And then there are the conservations issues of torn maps (retrieved
improperly), folded/squished/crushed maps (replaced improperly) and the
costs of fixing or replacing them.
• Unless you have sheet level control of the collection (all sheets
catalogued or at least marked on indexes) you won't be able to identify
what you've lost by misplacing;
• You also won't be able to identify what you've lost by theft or
mutilation unless you've got staff sitting there watching (and if you
do, they may as well be trained to retrieve and replace the maps);
• Unless you've got especially clever users, they won't be able to find
what they need either, or at least not the best source;
• If users can't find what they want, they get frustrated;
• Frustrated users go away;
• And lack of users means administrators decide to give up the map
collection entirely.
The point being that in order to save a little money in the beginning
you either end up spending at least as much, if not more, later on
trying to put right all the problems caused by the money saving
exercise. Or you lose the collection/resource entirely.
Not to say you can't have open access map collections. I tended one
(about 1% of my duties) in a large public library back in the old days.
Except for the USGS topos, which were not open access, the collection
could best be described as 'extremely peripheral.'
As you can tell, I am a great proponent of map librarians keeping their
jobs!
Regards
April
April Carlucci
Cataloguing Manager and Curator of Modern Maps
British Library Map Collections
-----Original Message-----
From: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Angie Cope, AGSL
Sent: 28 June 2006 21:46
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MAPS-L] MAPS-L: map collections in open stacks question
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: map collections in open stacks question
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 16:19:50 -0400
From: John Olson <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Greetings All,
This is a question for all you Map Librarians out there. I'd like to
know which map collections have changed or moved from being a separate
collection or a collection within a department that had semi-restricted
access (separate room) to a full wide-open pubic access collection (one
that is now a portion of the open public stack area)
What challenges have you be confronted with? Collection management
issues? Thefts? Re-shelving problems? Conservation/preservation
concerns/issues?
Are there collections out there that have moved from an open public
area into their own separate space? Why did you do this?
Thanks in advance. I would appreciate any kind of feedback so I can
keep SU's collection from potentially being ravaged in an open public
area.
John A. Olson
Maps/GIS Librarian
358 Bird Library
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY 13244
E [log in to unmask]
P 315-443-4818
F 315-443-9510
-
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