----------------------------Original message---------------------------- April Carlucci refers to a particular issue that either plagues or benefits a variety of users and is perhaps more endemic to those in the United States but it seems to be occuring certainly in Canada with some regularity and in various European countries. First, there are regional libraries and then there are regional GPO depository libraries which ALL should have access to the WEB and at least be able to access and download simple text files such as New Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey. Most of the 1,000+ GPO depositories throughout the United States have been given suggested minimum requirements in order to deal with electronic publications and the increasing array of spatial and cartographic data that will be, and is, being distributed in this way. Second, this is something one can either complain about or adapt to. USGS funding and staffing has been shredded and other federal agencies can provide their own lamentable stories. Much of the depository library community, although not all, have been asking for digital data because of its ease to store and provide quick and efficient access to a large amount of data. Third, and finally, this is a trend that will continue unabated one might predict as more cartographic and spatial data is created in digital format and will probably never be printed unless we, or other producers/users, choose to do so. These are interesting times and times when we will be seriously challenged to provide different types of information to our users. ****************************************************************************** David A. Cobb Tel (617) 495-2417 Harvard Map Collection FAX (617) 496-0440 Harvard University E-Mail: [log in to unmask] Cambridge, MA 02138 VE * RI * TAS *****************************************************************************