----------------------------Original message---------------------------- As one of the founders of CUAC I can say that its origin was in response to the Defense Mapping Agency's seeming indifference to the Map Library community. We felt that it would respond better to a council of representatives who were appointed by their respective organizations to "represent" the collective interests of the profession, rather than DMA hearing from individuals who might be only representing themselves. Once the effectiveness of CUAC vis-a-vis DMA was proven (not that DMA has given much since then) the CUAC concept was expanded to reach-out to all Federal agencies that produce maps. The central theme is for us to get to know the problems and objectives of the Federal agencies, and the constraints under which they work, and for the agencies to get to know our needs. Linda Newman, U of Nevada-Reno, has written some history of CUAC, and you might want to read my article in Wilson Library Bulletin, October 1985, pg. 33-36, 79, "Map Librarianship: Suggestions for Improvement," for an overview of CUAC's objectives, and a history of the problems that we saw during the early years. There are also reports in the WAML Information Bulletin during that period. I can't speak for CUAC's current situation. Stan Stevens