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Hello everyone,

I’m including ideas/thoughts below:

We could probably devote enough resources to individually barcode each map (a little bit at a time) within some smaller sets of maps, but not for all of our USGS 7.5 minute topo map quads and other smaller scale USGS topo sets. We have TN cataloged at the item level, but not the other states. We have to hold onto all of our pre-1989 USGS topographic maps sets since we’re the FDLP shared holdings library for GPO deposited maps in TN. At a minimum, I’ll be using the USGS topographic maps indexes (for each topo set) as a finding aid at the offsite storage annex and at the main library.

I’ll be moving the USGS topoView link on our map collection research guide to a new (highly visible) tab devoted to USGS topographic maps and other maps sets. I’m hoping it will help as a place where patrons could go to as a first option for finding/browsing what they might need. Maybe including PURL’s to USGS topoView within the USGS topographic map set catalog records would be helpful also. If people on campus and the general public still were needing/wanting the paper map, then they could put in a request with storage, and storage folks could check the physical drawers for that map.

Some additional finding aid ideas include:

Adding the USGS topographic maps indexes (PDF, other) on our research guide with shading for quadrangles that we hold, but linking to the USGS topoVIew website would probably be better/easier as a first place to browse.

Barcoding each map drawer that would allow storage staff to confirm/check contents of each drawer, but it’s just as easy to open the drawer and search the maps alphabetically – which is how they’re currently stored.

Of course the ideal solution is to catalog everything at the item level, but that’s probably not an option for us at this point. If others have any additional ideas/thoughts that can aid with discovery when dealing with collections offsite, I’d appreciate it.

Best,

-Greg

Gregory H. March

Map & Government Information Librarian

Associate Professor

University of Tennessee

Hodges Library

Knoxville, TN 37996

865-974-3878

Research Guides – Anthropology, Earth & Planetary Sciences, Geography, Maps, Government
Tennessee Committee on Geographic Names

From: March, Greg
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2024 12:14 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Relocating Map Collection to Future Offsite Storage Facility

Hello,

We’re needing to relocate our map collection to offsite storage in the next year or so, and we have some collections that are not cataloged at the item level. Once the maps are relocated offsite, they’ll no longer be browsable by campus and public. Have any of you had to relocate your uncataloged map collections offsite, and if so, how did you make the maps discoverable by public that aren’t cataloged individually? We don’t have the resources to catalog/barcode every map at the item level, so are trying to learn about alternative ways to make the maps discoverable by patrons via the catalog and research guides, and by our storage staff for retrieval at the future offsite storage facility. I have some ideas to help enable discovery, but would appreciate any ideas /suggestions from the map community.