----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Can anyone recommend a gazetteer (or similar kind of reference tool) that will help us with the rising tide of requests for information about placenames in Eastern Europe, particularly Poland? I suspect most of those asking are genealogists, but that's OK with me. For the most part, the patron will have the name of a 19th century community and will want to know where this community is to be found on a map. We have a growing collection of medium-scale maps for Eastern Europe but without a detailed gazetteer--especially useful would be an historical gazetteer--we don't have much chance of pinpointing a place. The US BGNs are only moderately useful. I do recall a spate of questions and answers on Maps-L about a year ago and that some map librarians were using a work by someone called Ryder (or something like that). But any assistance would be appreciated. If some of you are consulting out-of-print titles, we could still try to purchase a copy from antiquarian dealers. Richard Pinnell University Map and Design Library University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 e-mail: [log in to unmask]