-------- Original Message -------- Subject: RE: MAPS-L: Searching by coordinates questions Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 13:26:53 -0600 From: Kadri, Carolyn J <[log in to unmask]> To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]> Paige, Can that chart be copied and distributed? I would like to have a copy if you can bring it to San Antonio. Thanks. Carolyn Kadri UT Arlington **** -----Original Message----- From: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Angie Cope, AGSL Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 1:15 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: MAPS-L: Searching by coordinates questions -------- Original Message -------- Subject: MAPS-L: Searching by coordinates questions Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 13:51:30 -0500 From: Paige Andrew <[log in to unmask]> To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]> Jimmie, I don't have an algorithm to offer, but some years ago I did see a demo at LC G&M showing what Voyager was capable of doing using coordinate-based searching. It was a bit clumsy and needed some refinement, but I do not know where the company has gone with this capability, it is my understanding that they developed this as a "package" or "unit" of Voyager that the institution had to choose to pay extra for at one time. That said, the best way to make this useable would be to plug in a set of coordinates and have all items that overlapped within the given geographic area be retrieved. Map scale would not matter, what you are attempting to do is retrieve all items that touched upon or fell within a polygon (which could be a bounding box too) of coordinates and then allow the patron to sort through that set by some other parameter, one of which might be scale. I believe the coordinates searching capability on the Alexandria Digital Library works this way, and if not I'm sure Mary L. can straighten me out in a hurry! I see this as a very powerful means of retrieval, and more exact than textual combinations as well. In my workshops that I teach I always tell attendees that putting coordinates in a given record is an option withon our current standards, that the "LC practice" is to input coordinates when they appear on the map, but that in reality we should all be inputting coordinates at the very least when they do appear on the map because the time is coming when coordinate-based searching is going to really take off and thus we will be contributing to the good of such a mechanism. Its still up to each cataloger, but I have always input coordinates when they appear on the map, and will also input U.S. state coordinates even when they are not on the map simply because of a handy chart I still have from the map cataloging workshop I took from Arlyn Booth back in 1987! Paige At 11:28 AM 1/17/2006, you wrote: >-------- Original Message -------- >Subject: Searching by coordinates questions >Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 10:05:50 -0500 >From: Jimmie Lundgren <[log in to unmask]> >To: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]> > > >Dear MAPS-L Subscribers, > > Regarding the MARC Discussion Paper 2006 DP01 on adding >geographic coordinates to authority records for places, the following >message was sent to the MARC discussion list by Karen Coyle. I am hoping >that some of you or your associates will be willing to help address >these questions. Thanks in advance for any help! > >"I would like to see discussion about the use of coordinates for >searching. This DP says: "Searching by geographic coordinates is offered >as a mode of access by only a few library catalog systems vendors at >this time, although it may be offered more frequently in the future." >The one time that I was involved in an attempt to define a search based >on coordinates, we ended up not doing it because we couldn't find a >clear definition of how such a search would work. Would the coordinates >of a search query have to match the coordinates in the record exactly? >Would a record be retrieved if query coordinates were within the >coordinates in the record? Overlapping with the coordinates in the >record? Would a record be retrieved if the coordinates in the record >were within the coordinates of the query? Does map scale matter? > >So if someone has a query algorithm to offer, I, for one, would be >interested in seeing it." > >Best regards, >Jimmie > >Jimmie Lundgren >U of Florida >POB 117007 >Gainesville, FL 32611 >[log in to unmask] >352-392-0351 > > >