--- Begin Forwarded Message --- >Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 17:39:31 -0400 >From: Omni Resources <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: dates on USGS topos Mark; The dates issue on topo maps is a huge issue with dealers, and me in particular. Currently there is, quite literally, no way to tell if you have a current edition short of having the USGS staff go into the USGS warehouse and check the date on the printed maps. This is because the USGS currently does not keep a listing of the date that appears in the lower right-hand corner of the map - the "date" that the general public associates with the map. They keep a listing of the "currency date" or the "date of last review". What the "photoinspected dates may not match..." means is: start with a map with a date in the lower right-hand corner of 1960 In, say, 1990 the USGS photoinspected the map and found that the amount of updating needed did not meet their minimum level and no updates were performed on the map. This means that the 1960 map is still current. But because the map was inspected in 1990, the on-line lists and the printed lists will show a 1990 date - the date of last review. This 1990 date now does not match the date on the map! Thus, a customer with the 1960 map looks up on the listing and sees a 1990 date, and they order it thinking they will get a map dated 1990. Instead the get the same 1960 map they already have and boy do we hear about it. If the USGS finds that updates are needed, then corrections would be added in purple and "photorevised in 1990" would be added in purple under the 1960 date. With the USGS listings becoming more readily available, we have had a huge increase in people trying to update their maps, only to find that the dates on the USGS are useless in determining whether they have an old issue or not. We were even threatened with a lawsuit once on supplying "old" maps and not admitting it. OMNI Resources International Map Specialists [log in to unmask] www.omnimap.com --- End Forwarded Message ---