-------- Original Message --------
Subject: barcoding maps
Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 10:46:37 -0500
From: "nkandoian" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
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Greetings and Happy New Year, Maps-L readers!
Below are some comments about barcoding maps that I found after
searching
the archives of Maps-L from 1995 to the present. Does anyone have
comments
to add that would help other map collections (e.g. NYPL Map Division)
planning to implement barcoding? Can anyone recommend a citation to a
basic study or primer on barcoding library materials that has some
application to maps? Those of you who have had barcoding going on in
your
collections for a few years now, what do you have to report on wear and
tear of the map area where the barcode is placed, especially when the
paper
of the map is significantly less durable than the barcode sticker? And
what about adhesive migration over time?
re conservation issues, in 1995, a university map librarian expressed
concern about the acidity of barcodes at her institution. The only
relatively neutral ones known by her to be available at that time
(Intermec Duratran II) were found to not be durable enough. There
was
no further comment on her message.
re remote storage and retrospective barcoding, in 1997, a map
librarian
preparing segments of his university map collection for remote
storage
decided to barcode folders of maps, rather than individual maps.
re barcode placement, in 2000, a university map librarian explained
that
there was a change in her collection from barcoding on the verso of a
map (non-printed side in many cases) to barcoding on the recto. She
found the recto preferable, for easy spotting, but acknowledged that
their circulation people had to be prepared to look on both sides of
the
maps because of the former policy applied to the earlier batch of
materials that were barcoded.
re what is barcoded when, in 2002, a map librarian in a Canadian
government agency collection indicated that all new Canadian and
American sheet maps are barcoded on receipt, whereas other maps are
barcoded only when checked out.
re conservation issues, in 2002, a university map librarian working
with
aerial photos noted problems with adhesive migration out from behind
barcode labels, causing photos to stick together. Her plan to deal
with
that was to put photos in sleeves and barcode the sleeves. I did not
find any further comment on her message.
re barcode placement and the tendency of barcodes on sheet maps to
make
a stack of maps too thick in a drawer that would otherwise be able to
comfortably hold a certain sized stack of maps, in 2002, a university
map librarian answered an inquiry by saying that "the thickness of
barcodes is a non-issue. They are MUCH thinner than they were five
years ago. You do not really have to worry about staggering their
placement unless all the maps in a particular drawer are all the same
dimensions."
re barcode placement on batches of maps of uniform size (e.g. USGS
topo
quads), in 2002, a university map librarian commented that "we place
them on each sheet in a chosen area with a simple variance of a few
inches N or S, in a preferred corner of the bottom periphery of each
map
... sort of controlled randomness ... "
If I've missed something from the archives that you remember, please let
me/us know. Additional thoughts/comments/experiences shared will be
much
appreciated.
Nancy Kandoian
Map Division
New York Public Library
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