--- 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
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