----------------------------Original message---------------------------- The horse is out of the barn Alice. I loved Tom Neff's statement, "A whole CD-ROM or optical disk is no more valuable than the original map whose image it carries." This really gets to the nub of scanning cartographic treasures. I mean, compare the Red Hot Chili Peppers latest release for $14.95 and a really good scan of a Jefferson and Frye. Why are we quibbling about file size? Alice, I know this hasn't gotten to your much more significant question of WHAT to scan. Is it a question of putting together an exhibit, or a collection development policy? Personally I'd rather see excellent scanned images of maps, which meet all the technical controls, as part of multi-media publications than simply as maps. Puts a whole scholarly twist to it, but I, for one, am ready to be the scholar/librarian for a change. Patrick McGlamery