-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        RE: MAPS-L: duplicate/superseded and unwanted maps and atlas
handling
Date:   Wed, 18 Oct 2006 13:17:36 -0400
From:   Angie, Maps-L Moderator
To:     <maps-l



Duplicate/superseded and unwanted maps survey results

The survey was intended to determine how map librarians get rid of what
they don't want. Not all responses answered the questions exactly as
asked so I've done the best to compile the results. There were 12
respondents.

Feel free to send comments to the list.

**************************
How does your library handle duplicate/superseded and unwanted maps or
atlases?
**************************
1) Post to a list to find new home: yes/no
which lists:
maps-l
no 2 yes 7
yes note: will post to maps-l only if it's a major collection - will not
make long elaborate lists

geonet
no 3 yes 3

gov docs federal weeding list
no 3 yes 1

other (please list)

calmap
yes 1

waml
yes 3

UC/Stanford map libraries (closed list)
yes 2

amcircle
yes 1

Institute of Australian geographers
yes 1

Melbourne university staff lists from the appropriate departments
yes 1

note: cost of shipping discourages use of posting to listserves


2) Sell at local book sale:
no 4 yes 3

note: Library policy is that we can sell only items that do not have
property stamp;
and the book-sale room doesn't have the space for displaying maps except
folded ones.
note: if it's never been property stamped w/our stamp (in other words,
if it came from another library or a gift of some sort in the first
place), we place it in a pile w/the hopes of selling it at a future map
sale.


3) Sell or trade to local map resellers:
no 4 yes 1

3) Place on a "freebie" table for patrons to take:
no 2 yes 7

note: put on freebie table when most sheet maps including all gifts and
weeds that don't have depository “strings" attached such as superseded
charts.
note: if they don't move off the freebie table, they are recycled
note: For depository items that have been superseded, we put those in a
give away bin.
Note: library bureaucracy was against this too for 'space/security'
reasons. I'm fairly bitter about my experience with the bureaucracy on
this subject, as librarians were more worried about space/cost than the
value of material they were throwing out. The library even locked its
disposal bins to ensure staff did not rescue items for their own
personal use.

4) Other (please describe)
*Superseded depository maps are generally given away during departmental
events (such as the upcoming GIS Day).

*A few categories of federal nautical and aeronautical charts are cut-up
when they are superseded, to prevent people from using outdated charts.

*Depending on their nature (i.e., perceived ubiquity, utility, etc.) dup
maps may be given away or offered out to other libraries.

*We follow SuDoc rules when edition is superseded or when we scale down
USGS topo maps from certain other states due to space limits.

*Unwanted maps meet their maker (via the recycle bin)

*We are obliged to send withdrawn library books to the university
surplus store.
There they are sold for $1 each. Some percentage of the proceeds come
back to the library. We have a little more discretion with unwanted gift
books that were never part of our collection.

*I've tried selling duplicate gift books on Ebay with proceeds to go to
the library. It is a bit of a hassle to post and follow through on
shipments though.

*Also, if I have a particularly nice item that isn't good enough to
bother selling I might offer it to my department faculty or other people
in the library.

*from University of TX at Austin: we give first choice of any duplicate
maps to our partner map library at the Perry-Castaneda Library, UT's
main library. If they already have a copy (copies) we distribute the
maps elsewhere.

*given to local high schools, other provincial university collections
(listserv), or the Geography grad students who have a sale each year.

*attractive maps go in the staff lounge and see if anyone took them
home. Staff like it for gift wrap

*My favorite is just to put them in the mail to a library that would
seem to me to be interested, with cover letter saying, toss into
recycle. Example: we're weeding our city-map collection (except for CA),
keeping maps only for major cities in each state. I send the city maps
we don't need to the major university map collection in a given state.

*If however, it's been property stamped w/our stamp, disposing it is
more difficult b/c it's considered state property. We're supposedly
supposed to send it to the surplus warehouse for an auction, but we
haven't been able to bring ourselves to do that yet, so we're just
collecting them in a second pile for now.