--- Begin Forwarded Message --- Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 12:55:51 -0700 From: Brian Bach <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: deaccessioning of national topographic map collections <fwd> Sender: Brian Bach <[log in to unmask]> Alice and everyone, Any discards we make are exclusively because of duplication. Our 50-state USGS topo collection is one of our greatest resources, and if anyone dares to storm the gates seeking to erode or eradicate any or all of it, they do so at their peril! There would follow a (verbal!) battle of such consequences that we who toil in the brown contours of the 7.5 domains would undoubtedly triumph in our cause! OK, OK, I laid it on a bit thick... Yes, we value our collection, and it will be preserved intact. I can't answer for any other collection, but with the incredible flurries of new topos that have come our way for the past few years and continue to the present, there is rather a lot to discard on a regular basis - due to duplication, of course. We retain all editions of WA state, but cannot do so with other states. That's where the area restrictions come into play. I assume we are pretty typical in our practices and situation. We are currently engaged in putting every 7.5 topo quad record into our online catalog, and it is a perfect time to assess the collection, to follow the USGS alphabetization arrangement, and to note what our gaps are - perchance to be filled a bit by the discards advertised via this here global Maps-L! A personal comment: I think that this is an era when libraries should be making unprecedented efforts to retain their traditionally vital collections in ALL formats. This should be done in the spirit of viewing the future as the unknown factor that it has always been. Brian Brian P. Bach Maps Specialist Documents/Maps Central Washington University Library 400 E. 8th Ave. Ellensburg, WA 98926-7548 USA [log in to unmask] >>> [log in to unmask] 10/17/02 11:51AM >>> --- Begin Forwarded Message --- Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 14:20:06 -0400 From: ahudson <[log in to unmask]> Subject: deaccessioning of national topographic map collections Sender: ahudson <[log in to unmask]> Over and over I see map libraries getting rid of their non-regional topos and sending them off to other libraries around the US. What is happening here? Is this a result of topos being available on the web and cds? Is it a space issue? Budget issue? Are there libraries that are committed to retaining as complete collections as possible [all 50 states, including back issues] for research use? Seems to me the map library community should be aware of locations of retrospective USGS topos, outside of the National Archives. So far NYPL has been able to retain ours, despite moving non-northeast historical sheets to remote storage. Budget cuts or space issues some day may require more drastic moves, but so far... Which libraries around the country are retaining their entire USGS collections? topos that is...Just curious! Alice C. Hudson Chief, Map Division The Humanities and Social Sciences Library The New York Public Library 5th Avenue & 42nd Street, Room 117 New York, NY 10018-2788 [log in to unmask]; 212-930-0589; fax 212-930-0027 http://nypl.org/research/chss/map/map.html --- End Forwarded Message --- --- End Forwarded Message ---