-------- Original Message -------- Subject: US Topo - how to provide access to "A New Generation of USGS Maps" Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:59:25 -0500 From: John A Stevenson <[log in to unmask]> Organization: University of Delaware To: MAPS-L <[log in to unmask]> Dear Colleagues, In December 2009, Richard Huffine announced "a new series of digital topographic maps, called US TOPO, that will be produced on a 3-year cycle for the entire conterminous United States" to MAPS-L. His post generated discussion at the time, but since then, there seem to be no postings regarding library practices to help users access the new topographic maps online. To provide access to printed maps, library users may be shown an index map and asked to identify areas of interest. Library staff may locate quadrangles showing those areas. This process works if users have some sense that the library can help them. What's the best way to do this? With the 7.5-minute paper topos, US GPO created map serial records for each state, allowing libraries to load records and attach holdings on an ongoing basis. GPO staff also attempted to catalog each edition of each quadrangle. For many libraries, these records provided choices and many libraries used the map serial records to provide general access to the collections and printed indexes to pinpoint areas of interest. In July 2010, the GPO started cataloging and archiving the new PDF files. About 280 may now be accessed through CGP (GPO's catalog) at http://catalog.gpo.gov/ using the advanced search SuDoc Call Number = I 19.81: AND W-URL= http (an LC subject heading word, such as a state name, may be added to make this more useful.) Each US Topo map has a record and a unique PURL is assigned to link to the file archived on GPO's server. Linking the PURL to the archived copy should allow retrieval of the specific edition even after if it were removed from the USGS site. As I see it, the only down side to this archival cataloging is that users seeking newly-created current editions may not find them or be aware of their existence. The US Topo site links to The USGS Store graphical index. It's possible to find both the 1993 and 2010 editions for Beaver, PA (which has been cataloged by GPO. The nearby Ambridge, PA quadrangle cannot be located in CGP because it lacks a record at this time. Likewise, users seeking a topo for Avon, NY won't find it in CGP (even when it's cataloged) because the quadrangle name is Rush, NY. To help users locate maps without a printed index, would it be better to point users to a point of entry such as the US Topo page, the USGS Store page, or somewhere else? I'd like to start a discussion of how libraries can make these easy for the public to use. If anyone doesn't want to post to a discussion, I'd be happy to summarize private responses. John -- John A. Stevenson Associate Librarian Coordinator, Government Documents and Maps Processing Unit University of Delaware Library 181 S. College Ave. Newark, DE 19717-5267 302 831-8671 [log in to unmask]