BTW, I was wondering if your maps collection has
holding on your online catalog. If they are not, usage of
the map collection will be low since they cannot be found
by library patrons. A recon of the maps collection will
be worth your while. I don't adhere to the "if you built
it they will come" philosophy. You need to promote the
collection heavily...could be that most patrons don't know
those maps exist so they don't ask for them. It has been
my experience that most patrons don't know what they need
and, hence, don't know what to ask for. By listening to
the patron, you can point them in the right direction...it
is up to you to let patrons know what tools they need for
their research.
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Â
      ,-~~-.___.
     / | '    \        "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of
    ( )        0        the few or the one."
     \_/-, ,----'
        ====         Â
//Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Mr. Spock
       / \-'~;  Â
/~~~(O)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Star Trek:Â The Wrath of Khan
      / __/~|  /      |
    =( _____| (_________|
                                      Â
Â
Carlos A. Diaz
Government Publications, Maps, and Microforms
                          Â
James E. Brooks Library    Â
Central Washington University
Mailstop 7548
Ellensburg, WA 98926
Carlos' phone:Â Â (509) 963-1545
Â
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>>> "Angie Cope, American Geographical Society
Library,             UW Milwaukee"
<[log in to unmask]>
3/20/2014 7:29 AM >>>
-------- Original Message
--------
I do not foresee at this point withdrawing
any topographic maps we had received in printed form.
However, my experience somewhat mirrors that of Jon
Jaboloski at UC Santa Barbara. The bulk of the
topographic collection is offsite. In our case, the
library where they are housed moved to a new public
service location, I moved the maps of the states
covering our region, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. I left
the remaining states at the previous location. I have
had very few requests for the remaining 47 states since
we moved. Those that moved are available for
self-service browsing. The Ohio items get some usage.
Another impact on my own efforts is in scanning of
printed maps. I had, a couple of years before the
topographic database was complete, arranged two
scanning projects. The 7.5-min. maps of the general
area, SW Ohio (Cincinnati and Dayton included), and
nearby parts of Indiana and Kentucky, were scanned.
The other project was to scan our collection of
15-min. Ohio maps, which turned out to be complete but
for two quadrangles, although some are in poor
condition. The historical maps provided by USGS make
these projects no longer as necessary as they seemed a
few years ago.
I foresee a point where it might be feasible to
give up the printed maps other than those of regional
interest, or areas of known research interests (e.g.,
coverage for areas of interest for a Rocky Mountains
research station the Geology Dept. maintains). But I
don't think that point has come, yet. Plotting is
available as needed for printing digital files. But
why print something, or purchase a plot, when a
lithographed copy is already available?
Ken Grabach
Maps Librarian
Miami University Libraries
Oxford, OH 45056 USA