----------------------------Original message---------------------------- The following information about the Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives conference next year may be of interest to you. ASSOCIATION OF CANADIAN MAP LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES 1994 ANNUAL CONFERENCE The members of the conference planning committee are Flora Francis (chair), Cathy Moulder, Colleen Beard, and Richard Pinnell. In 1994 the conference will be at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario from Tuesday, June 7 to Saturday, June 11; these dates are tentative but only in the sense that no formal agreement has yet been made with the university. Flora is responsible for local arrrangements at the University of Guelph whereas Cathy (McMaster), Colleen (Brock), and Richard (Waterloo) are arranging the program. Some of the sessions being considered include the following; it is important to note that these are simply ideas at this time and that nothing has been finalized yet. Public Access to Digital Data: a panel discussion with representatives from various levels of government (municipal, provinicial, federal). This panel deals with the supply side of digital data. Related to this topic, we may invite Bob Maher from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to talk about access to natural resources information in general. Role of Map Libraries (in the acquisition and provision of digital data) as Perceived by GIS Users: a series of papers presented by those who make use of digital data. This session deals with the application side of digital data. Historical Cartography: some suggestions included inviting Don Measner to talk about the Historical Atlas of Canada (volume 2), Professor Alun Hughes (Brock) to talk about historical surveys of Niagara County, and/or Dr. Elizabeth Bloomfield (Guelph) to discuss her historical and cartographic research in the counties of Wellington and Waterloo. New Initiatives in Map Librarianship: ideas that were discussed included a) coping with shrinking budgets and b) aggressively promoting and marketing our collections and services. With regard to shrinking budgets, there could be discussion about the merits of charging user fees (e.g., for the use of airphotos by consultants), cooperative collection development, and extensive use of the Internet. Marketing becomes important in an environment where patrons have access to sources other than map libraries for the supply of cartographic information. Tour: the committee is considering arranging a tour of the GIS facility at the Guelph Agriculture Centre, which is affiliated with the Ontario Centre for Soil Research. Soil maps and general system land use maps are available from the Centre in digital form. Field Trip and Annual Banquet: the committee discussed combining these two events. The field trip could be a journey into Mennonite country in parts of Wellington and Waterloo (including a Mennonite market and Elora) and/or it could be a sweep along the Niagara Escarpment from Guelph to Milton, Dundas and Ancaster. A suggested location for the annual banquet was the Ancaster Mill in Ancaster (near Hamilton). Workshops: exporting data from Digital Chart of the World; cataloguing digital data; mining the Internet; using Statistics Canada's digital boundaries files. With regard to this last topic, the suggestion was made that we invite someone from Statistics Canada to give a demonstration. Miscellaneous: the committee is in favour of scheduling the business meeting in the morning. In the past these meetings have tended to be quite lengthy, thus interfering with plans for the annual banquet. It is hoped that a resdistribution of surplus maps held by the National Archive of Canada can be organized. And finally, the committee is sensitive to the needs of the archival members of our association and will attempt to plan sessions that are inclusive in terms of their relevance to all members. The members of the committee welcome your comments and input on this very preliminary program. Please send suggestions for additional sessions to any member of the conference committee. Cathy Moulder (email [log in to unmask] Colleen Beard (email [log in to unmask]) Richard Pinnell (email [log in to unmask]) Flora Francis (email [log in to unmask]) Richard Pinnell University Map and Design Library University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 e-mail: [log in to unmask]