----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Following are comments by Greg Hajic, who is responsible for computer-applications assistance to users in the Map & Imagery Lab, UCSB: Well, Chris has summed up the feelings of many a map librarian I would suspect. It sounds like he has done as much advance work as possible to miminmize time spent with frequent requests. And it sounds like he has a good grasp of what his patrons want and how to go about delivering. I think he hit the nail on the head with the line: "Just about everyone has needed help in getting started, and the majority of users have required vast amounts of additional help." Making software easier to use would be nice, but I only see that happening slowly over time. I think the trade-off with ease-of-use is limited functionality; it is hard to get something for nothing (no free lunch and all that). The only alternative to additional staff, or specialized staff is for patrons to expect a slower turn around time. No matter how you slice it, custom-designed maps from a digital source take time to produce, period. I know the desire and the past standard is/has been to provide walk-in service. Maybe that just isn't realistic in this low-budget (minimum staff), high-tech (skilled labor) environment. I think things will improve over time though. We are in a transition period which requires lightning adaptation to the high-tech products which appear at a faster-than-light rate with staff that are literally pushed into the abyss of state-of-the-art technology, dragging their card catalogues with them. Over time, positions will evolve to smooth out the inequities of service during this transition period. I think (hope) we will look back on this period and laugh about the volume of high-tech equipment and the handful (if that) of staff available to support and use it. ------- End of Forwarded Message