Between 1979 and 1999 I was Map Librarian for the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (National Library of The Netherlands). During that time I myself and 2 map-catalogers created almost 65,000 full maprecords (single sheets, but also maps in books and periodicals) in a mapdomain specific database. The full record included coded information, geographical co-ordinates (even when not denoted on the map), extensive notes, and attribution of classifications. Lots of records were derivates of other records we had created, there were no other institutes from which we could copy. Authority records (personal and corporate names, subjects, area) for several thesauri were created by an additional employee.



Since the middle of 2009 I am again half-time map-cataloguer of the same institute. I still create full records as above, but now in OCLC|Pica, that is a combined database with records for all library objects (books, periodicals, maps, music, electronic sources, etc.). Authority records for corporations and subjects are created by a separate group of cataloguers. Authority records for personal names and geographical entities are, however, my own responsibility. I guess that with some 40 work-weeks (we have a labour-contract to be jealous of with some nine weeks of holidays) and something more than 3 hours a day to catalogue I can create between 1,500 and 1,750 records for modern maps (topographic, hydrographic, geologic, morphologic, townplans and some miscellaneous, lots of serials) annually. The older the map to be cataloged, however, the more time it takes. I have one big advantage when processing maps which do not have co-ordinates. We have topographical atlases per prov
ince for the whole of The Netherlands on scales 1:25,000 and 1:50,000, as well for modern maps as 19th century maps (with the same page-division). For maps outside the Dutch territory I mainly use the Times atlas.

Should I only catalogue topographic maps I think I could do between 40-50 on a full workday (this includes acquisition-administration, security-stripping and stackroom-labeling). But one has to keep a clear head, because copying existing records can lead to sloppy work as records (except for geographical co-ordinates and area-coding) sometimes differ in minor details and sizes are not all the same.

A typical record of a topographical map (in OCLC|Pica marc) looks like:



0500 KFv

1100 2010

1104 byyaegkafaa..abba

1105 ac.aabbcb

1106 4+2007......+20090101

1107 00000050000...........

1108 aac....ai

1121 6

1500 /1ned

1700 /1nl

2000 =9789035001985

2020 22230533

3121 !322618134!

4000 @Alkmaar / Kadaster/Geo-Informatie

4026 Schaal 1:50.000

4027 stereografische proj.; ellipsoïde van Bessel 1841

4028 O 004 34 24 -O 004 52 19 /N 052 42 41 -N 052 29 05

4030 Apeldoorn : Kadaster

4060 1 krt

4061 in kleur

4062 53×43 cm, op bl. 57×72 cm

4150 @Topografische kaart van Nederland ; 19 west

4160 #190W#!327299487! ; 19 west

4201 De keerzijde van het blad is niet bedrukt

4201 De kaart is zowel plano als gevouwen (29×13 cm) te verkrijgen

4251 Op de kaarten is een vierkantennet aangegeven volgens het verschoven nationale, rechthoekige coördinatensysteem van de Rijksdriehoekmeting

4251 Op de kaarten is een diagram betreffende de magnetische deklinatie aangegeven

4252 De kaart is een gegeneraliseerde weergave van een fotogrammetrisch opgebouwd bestand

4253 De hoogtegegevens in meters zijn gebaseerd op Normaal Amsterdams Peil (N.A.P.), in België op Oostende Peil en in Duitsland op Normal Null; het hoogtelijnen-interval is 2,5 m

4253 De laagwaterlijn en de dieptelijnen zijn aangegeven in meters beneden N.A.P; het dieptelijnen-interval is 5 m

4255 Luchtfotografie en terreininformatie: 2007

4255 Grenzen: stand per 1 januari 2008

4255 Magnetische afwijking per 1 januari 2009

4256 Legenda in Nederlands, Engels en Duits

4258 Met bladwijzer waarop de aangrenzende bladen zijn aangegeven

5201 !322582199!

5202 !075632861!

5581 !314050256!

5591 !230185444!



LOK

3521 !322618134!

4701 jsm

4900 24-08-10 09:52:51.000



E01

7001 24-08-10 : gdj

7100 KL4.210    -0000/127/0019W/00/2007/1 !d! @ f

8009 jsm/34

8200 22230533

8322 euro 5.25

7900 24-08-10 09:52:51.000

7800 533346215



Tags in bold/italics have to be changed with almost every record.



And comes up thus in the local OPAC:



Title:

Alkmaar <http://opc4.kb.nl/DB=1/SET=2/TTL=1/CLK?IKT=4&TRM=Alkmaar>  / Kadaster/Geo-Informatie

Organization:

Kadaster Geo-Informatie <http://opc4.kb.nl/DB=1/SET=2/TTL=1/REL?PPN=322618134>

Year:

2010

Publisher:

Apeldoorn : Kadaster <http://opc4.kb.nl/DB=1/SET=2/TTL=1/CLK?IKT=1018&TRM=Kadaster>

Series:

Topografische kaart van Nederland <http://opc4.kb.nl/DB=1/SET=2/TTL=1/CLK?IKT=12&TRM=327299487&REC=*>  ; 19 west <http://opc4.kb.nl/DB=1/SET=2/TTL=1/CLK?IKT=12&TRM=327299487&REC=*>

Note:

De keerzijde van het blad is niet bedrukt
De kaart is zowel plano als gevouwen (29×13 cm) te verkrijgen
Op de kaarten is een vierkantennet aangegeven volgens het verschoven nationale, rechthoekige coördinatensysteem van de Rijksdriehoekmeting
Op de kaarten is een diagram betreffende de magnetische deklinatie aangegeven
De kaart is een gegeneraliseerde weergave van een fotogrammetrisch opgebouwd bestand
De hoogtegegevens in meters zijn gebaseerd op Normaal Amsterdams Peil (N.A.P.), in België op Oostende Peil en in Duitsland op Normal Null; het hoogtelijnen-interval is 2,5 m
De laagwaterlijn en de dieptelijnen zijn aangegeven in meters beneden N.A.P; het dieptelijnen-interval is 5 m
Luchtfotografie en terreininformatie: 2007
Grenzen: stand per 1 januari 2008
Magnetische afwijking per 1 januari 2009
Legenda in Nederlands, Engels en Duits
Met bladwijzer waarop de aangrenzende bladen zijn aangegeven

Extent:

1 krt. : in kleur. ; 53×43 cm, op bl. 57×72 cm

Scale:

Schaal 1:50.000

Projection:

stereografische proj.; ellipsoïde van Bessel 1841

Coordinates:

O 004 34 24-O 004 52 19/N 052 42 41-N 052 29 05

ISBN:

978-90-350-0198-5

Subject heading depository library (Netherlands):

topografie <http://opc4.kb.nl/DB=1/SET=2/TTL=1/REL?PPN=322582199> ; Noord-Holland <http://opc4.kb.nl/DB=1/SET=2/TTL=1/REL?PPN=075632861>

Request number:

KL4.210 -0000/127/0019W/00/2007/1 DEPOTEXEMPLAAR

Request info:

for inspection
available
 Request <http://192.87.31.188/LBSOpacLoan/startRequest.jsp?ACT=LRQ&EPN=533346215&MTR=mon&BES=1&LAN=EN&USR=888&REFERER=http%3A%2F%2Fopc4.kb.nl%3A80%2FDB%3D1%2FSET%3D2%2FTTL%3D1%2F%2FNXT&HOST_NAME=opc4.kb.nl&HOST_PORT=80&HOST_SCRIPT=&COOKIE=>



I also work on a project safeguarding early printed atlases and a record then will take me between 1 and 2 hours, sometimes more, for each atlas!



With kind regards,



Jan Smits

Koninklijke Bibliotheek, National Library of The Netherlands


________________________________

Van: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship namens Angie Cope
Verzonden: vr 24-9-2010 17:27
Aan: [log in to unmask]
Onderwerp: Re: Map Cataloging Expectation


-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Re: Map Cataloging Expectation
Date:   Mon, 20 Sep 2010 09:47:37 -0400
From:   Paige Andrew <[log in to unmask]> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
To:     Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship <[log in to unmask]> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>


Harry,

Here at Penn State, remembering that we have a Map Cataloging Team made up of four individuals (3 FTE):

1. Numerical expectations either from the department or Team level are not employed, as for myself I make a goal of XXX number of titles per year for myself and my supervisor (Head of the department) signs off on it. Many, many years ago while at UGA all catalogers were expected to make numerical goals, based on format of material, though I no longer remember what mine was. A MAJOR difference between the two settings is tenure and all the non-cataloging expectations that entails. At UGA also I was THE maps cataloger, doing both copy and original; here at PSU I do 95% original cataloging. Another consideration in all of this -- does your institution participate in one or more of the PCC's cooperative cataloging programs and if so what are numerical/other expectations for that participation? After all, cataloging is more than just creating descriptions, it also entails levels of skill for classification (and therefore creating accurate call numbers) and subject analysis (in pr
oviding the right numbers of subject headings, in correct format, and accurate to the item being described + all of us are now having to make decisions and go through a learning curve on the very recent change to form/genre cartographic headings/subdivisions). Personally, I would expect the individual who ONLY has to worry about cataloging to be doing far more record-creating than the person who also is involved in a variety of non-cataloging activities (required or voluntarily) such as sitting on and participating or leading committees at the local, state, regional, national or international levels (or a mix), doing research/publication work and/or some form of outreach.

2. Copy vs. original cataloging: I would expect numbers on the copy side to be at least double that of original, with a caveat I'll outline below.

3. "Short cataloging" (or...collection-level or minimal-level record creation): we only do full-level cataloging at our institution with a very few exceptions, primarily those are related to a lack of language expertise in a given situation. We owe it to our patrons, wherever located, to provide them with the most accurate and complete description of our maps in order to aid in the process of deciding whether to come into the collection to look at and possibly borrow our maps. A full description also helps disambiguate between maps of similar or the same title. A description, particularly including coordinate values, that is accurate and specific also brings better search results. I would also fully expect that full descriptions are very helpful to the person who runs the collection and needs to rely on inherent data for collection-building decisions.

Caveat:

I've been posed this question many times in the past, and yes, there are some answers that have been given by others in the past that are specific numerical decisions. With more than 20+ years of map cataloging experience I always hesitate to give a certain set of numbers because the variables involved are too numerous. I touched on one major one above: does the person(s) involved ONLY do cataloging or do they have mixed duties. Which means, what are the other demands on their time outside of cataloging, and that has a direct impact on how much cataloging can actually be done. You touched on another factor; what kind of cataloging is being done, copy vs. original? (and I threw in the mix of doing also accurate classification and subject analysis work) If the level of copy cataloging is high, and the institution expects the cataloger to take every record that matches "as is" with very minor adjustments/corrections/additions then one can assume the number of records created wi
ll/should be high. Warning however, what is the QUALITY of those records like that were created by other institutions -- it has a direct bearing on helping our patrons find what they are looking for and matching their needs. Compare that to the amount of time it takes to create an original record, whether from scratch or through the "derive" process (in OCLC), which must also include "doing authority work" so that access points are accurate (and/or for those of us who participate in NACO/SACO and/or BIBCO, taking the time to create authority records for places, people, topics and corporate bodies), we're talking about taking substantially more time per record than when doing copy cataloging.

All of this also entails the question, what kind of maps are in the collection that need to be described? A collection made up primarily of fairly straightforward maps from well-known companies or agencies will take less time to catalog than one that is more eclectic in far-reaching. If you told me that your collection was primarily made up of USGS, CIA, National Geographic, Rand McNally (and older companies that they bought up over the years) and other U.S. federal map-making agencies then my expectation of how quickly the collection can be cataloged would be very different than a collection that has not only the above but a large amount of maps from foreign sources, local-only sources, etc. The age of the maps involved also is a factor, there is less copy available for older materials (early twentieth century and older) than for those of more recent vintage, particularly from WWII to date.

Personally, I have always been a quality over quantity person and that will remain unchanged because I feel it benefits our patrons as well as my fellow catalogers and map librarian colleagues. If setting a cataloging standard based on numbers for staff of a given institution is fair, equitable, and workable then set up a set of numeric standards and see how things fall after a one-year period and then re-evaluate based on the outcomes. I think the only situation in which this might work satisfactorily though is with individuals whose work requirements are cataloging-only; for those of us who are doing a lot of non-cataloging work alongside cataloging work there is no equitable way of making numeric comparisons and the fair way to handle the expectation is on an annual basis in tandem with the person's supervisor.

I hope this helps...

Paige

On 9/16/2010 3:22 PM, Angie Cope wrote:

        -------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Map Cataloging Expectations
Date:   Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:20:59 -0500
From:   Harry Davis <[log in to unmask]> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
To:     Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship <[log in to unmask]> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>



        Questions have arisen at our library respecting expectations for the number of maps to be cataloged per unit of time (month or year).



        At issue is whether to have stated expectations.



        We would be interested to learn whether map catalogers elsewhere are given numerical expectations and, if so, how the expectations are determined and applied.



        A related question:  To what extent do expectations vary numerically with respect to copy cataloging vs. original cataloguing for maps.  Also, do you do short record cataloging for maps and, if so, how does that factor into the expectations?



        It would be helpful to know whether your response relates to the work of a "full-time" map cataloger or to that of a cataloger with mixed duties.



        Please feel free to respond online or offline directly to me.



        Many thanks in advance.



        Harry Davis

        Map Librarian -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale -- Carbondale, IL 62901-6632



        Phone: 618~453~2372 or 618-453-2705  /// [log in to unmask]