-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: Do you 'rescue' maps from books? or maps as a matter of
interest to curators of rare books and special collections
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 19:50:06 +0000
From: Weessies, Kathleen <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship
<[log in to unmask]>
I'm enjoying this whole message thread, thank you all for sharing. I
wrote the original post with my need-of-the-moment blinders on, not
thinking of how my question might be interpreted or shared. My library
has de-accessioning many print serials when we acquired permanent online
access, however I find I want to keep the fold-out maps regardless of
how nice the online equivalents are. The US Congressional Serial Set is
the set of volumes currently targeted, not for withdrawl, but for
off-site storage. Hallie is spot on when she observes how many times
this very thin paper had to be folded to make the maps fit down to the
size of the volume. Even if they received zero use, after 100 years or
so they fall to pieces just by unfolding them. So yes, I'm razoring out
some of the maps for flat storage. But there are about 30,000 maps
throughout the series (per Andrew Laas) and I only have time and space
to get the more mission-critical pieces.
I'm intensely grateful to those libraries that have had more carefully
planned and executed projects of this kind. Those of us who can't save
them all will likely take interest in the maps depicting our own state
or region and so collectively and unintentionally, we may all be
achieving a map-themed Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe. Aside from
Michigan and Great Lakes, I can't resist anything depicting removal of
Indians, establishment or deestablishment of reservations, exploitation
of natural resources and boundary disputes.
My hastily cobbled workflow has us making item records for each map in
the gigantic Serial Set catalog record, and each physical volume is
marked saying that the supplementary items are located in the Map
Library. Eventually I'd like to see full cataloging of each piece.
My Life as a Ripper, I love it!
Kathleen Weessies
Geosciences Librarian; Head, Map Library
Coordinator; Collaborative Technology Labs
Michigan State University
Main Library
366 W. Circle Drive, W308
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-884-0849
*From:*Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Angie Cope, American
Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee
*Sent:* Thursday, January 23, 2014 11:01 AM
*To:* [log in to unmask]
*Subject:* Re: Do you 'rescue' maps from books? or maps as a matter of
interest to curators of rare books and special collections
People contact me off list and sometimes it's just to good not to share ...
Kathleen and Ed, we would like to see you write an article entitled:
My life as a ripper.
Thank you.
angie and anonymous
-------- Original Message --------
*Subject: *
Do you 'rescue' maps from books? or maps as a matter of interest to
curators of rare books and special collections
*Date: *
Thu, 23 Jan 2014 09:33:02 -0600
*From: *
Angie Cope, American Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee
<[log in to unmask]> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
*Organization: *
American Geographical Society Library
*To: *
Maps-L <[log in to unmask]> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Has anyone seen the movie Momento where the film starts at the end and
works it's way to the beginning? Well, read this email that way too. A
VERY interesting conversation happening at the [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> list that got forwarded to the exlibris rare and
special collections librarian list and now ... I'm forwarding to map
librarians. There were some special collections librarians who were
shocked but I think the reality is that it happens.
What do you think?
Angie
-------- Original Message --------
*Subject: *
RE: ["EXLIBRIS-L"] maps as a matter of interest to curators of rare
books and special collections
*Date: *
Thu, 23 Jan 2014 10:15:55 -0500
*From: *
Charles Alaimo <[log in to unmask]> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
*Reply-To: *
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
*To: *
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
<[log in to unmask]> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
I, and my map colleagues before me, having been doing this for many
years at our institution. Folded maps on delicate or acidic paper never
survive when handled by patrons after decades of being untouched, and
flatening them is the best policy, I believe. I have made it a practice
to always return the map bibliographically to the original book or
serial record, even if specific map cataloging is lacking. Using our
unique, in-house classification, we add the map back to the record, and
pencil notes on the map and the book state its origins.
Charles Alaimo
Rare Book and Map Librarian
Grosvenor Room
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
1 Lafayette Sq.
Buffalo, NY 14203
716-858-7118
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:*raphaële mouren [[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>]
*Sent:* Thursday, January 23, 2014 9:38 AM
*To:* [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
*Subject:* Re: ["EXLIBRIS-L"] maps as a matter of interest to curators
of rare books and special collections
thank you Everett, you give the perfect answer.
And what about text written on the verso of the map? you just don't have
it when you read the book or the article?
Raphaële
2014/1/23 Angie Cope, American Geographical Society Library, UW
Milwaukee <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
There are SO MANY maps bound into books/serials. It's a race against
time to preserve these resources. I don't think map libraries are
cutting maps out of 15th century atlases but instead trying to save maps
from serials. These serials are increasingly being weeded because
they're "scanned" and online. The quality of the "scans" through google
or haithi or whatever are often poor at best.
Very interesting discussion and thank you so much Donald for sharing.
I'm not on the magirt list and so I'm glad I got to see this.
Angie (map librarian)
AGS Library
On 01/22/2014 07:30 PM, Donald Farren wrote:
Not to tattle, but I have learned, as enclosed, that map librarians
"rescue" (their term) maps by razoring them from books for separate
housing, the practice having the blessing of the Geography and Map
Division of the Library of Congress (although the division holds the
maps uncatalogued), the justification being that not having to go to
the books "saves a lot of time and energy." Our esteemed colleagues
have their reasons that must be respected, but I wonder if the
practice of breaking the books and obliterating the provenance of
the maps makes anyone else nervous. How does this practice, in
principle, differ from breaking atlases, commonly condemned by map
librarians?
Donald Farren
4009 Bradley Lane
Chevy Chase, MD 20815-5238
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
voice 301.951.9479
fax 301.951.3898
mobile 301.768.8972
*From:* Hallie Pritchett [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
*Sent:* Wednesday, January 22, 2014 5:19 PM
*To:* [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
*Subject:* RE: Do you 'rescue' maps from books?
Kathleen - John Phillips from Oklahoma State did a great
presentation on this very topic at a DLC Conference and Meeting a
couple of years ago. He talked specifically about pulling maps
related to Oklahoma from the Serial Set and cataloging them
separately. Don't know if he's on this list (I believe he's a MAGIRT
member), but if he's at Midwinter I'm sure he'd be happy to discuss
their project.
Hallie Pritchett
Map and Federal Regional Depository Librarian
University of Georgia Libraries
Athens, GA 30602
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
706-542-0664
706-583-0631 (FAX)
Map and Government Information Library -
http://www.libs.uga.edu/magil/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* Redmond, Edward James <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
*Sent:* Wednesday, January 22, 2014 5:04 PM
*To:* 'Weessies, Kathleen'; [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
*Subject:* RE: Do you 'rescue' maps from books?
Kathleen:
The Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress has been
rescuing maps from the Serial Set for many years. Additionally, we
have done the same with the RGS journals, and other 19^th century
maps tucked in War Department journals, etc.
By far, the largest project was our Serial Set rescue. From a
reference point of view, these maps are invaluable and having the
ability to go to the maps (based on Donna Koepps inventory) saves a
lot of time and energy. While this collection is not cataloged, some
of the maps have been scanned for a specific project.
If I were King of the Maps I would make one gigantic "rescued maps"
collection with notes on all the different publications (Serial Set;
RGS; etc.)
Ed
*From:*Weessies, Kathleen [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
*Sent:* Monday, January 20, 2014 5:00 PM
*To:* [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
*Subject:* Do you 'rescue' maps from books?
I've spent the last few days razoring maps out of the Serial Set --
our volumes from the late 1800s and early 1900s are about to go to
Remote Storage. Some old journals have fold-out maps in them too,
such as from the Royal Geographical Society. If you've done a
project to harvest maps for flat storage in the map library, I'd be
interested in hearing of your experiences.
Hey, is this a good discussion topic for the Map Collection
Manager's discussion group this weekend?
When I saw the first booktruck in Catalog Maintenance with its
numerous fold-out maps, I on-the-spot invented a workflow to rescue
some of them. I can't take them all, so I'm prioritizing the ones
closest to our collection interests. Great Lakes, and all that, plus
removal of Indians and other vital topics. Some maps fall into
pieces at the fold lines the moment I touch them!
Kathleen Weessies
Geosciences Librarian; Head, Map Library
Coordinator; Collaborative Technology Labs
Michigan State University
Main Library
366 W. Circle Drive, W308
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-884-0849
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