----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Hi, Mary, this may be covered under one of the other items on the list, but I made myself a scale calculation spreadsheet, which converts graphic scale distances to a representative fraction. Saves me a lot of time. And maybe some mention could be made about the size of surface needed to view a paper map, although having a mobile keyboard/"notebook" would cover that nicely.--Lori >----------------------------Original message---------------------------- >The next meeting of this group will be on Saturday, July 6, 8-9pm, at SHER, >Madison Suite 2. The topic of discussion will be: "The Ideal Work Station/Area >for Cataloging Cartographic Materials." If you can't attend and are interested >in the topic, do send me your additions to this list. > > >Required: >All that currently is available to catalogers in libraries now: >- - access to substantial numbers of records online (through OCLC), >- - Library of Congress Name Authority and Subject Authority Files, >- - Catalogers Desktop, >- - Library of Congress Classification Schedules (to be out sometime this year), >- - fields in order that makes cataloging easy, rather than in order that >database >structure permits; >- - and >so forth. > >Plus the following: >a. live background map, >b. ability to locate north arrow on the item >c. ability to find distances from any one point to any other given point >d. the ADL Gazetteer for checking place names, getting correct forms, and >obtaining coordinates >e. ability quickly and easily to convert the coordinates given on maps (which >are always in degrees/minutes/seconds) to the decimal degrees required by >Alexandria >f. spell-checking >g. online digital data: use PURL (Persistent URL software) for the location of >items available over the Web. >h. training for spatial-data catalogers in image processing and geographic >information systems software, aimed toward the particular uses catalogers need. >i. multilevel description >Sheet-level/frame-level access is essential, since users request items at that >level, rather than needing to see every sheet in a series. >For sheets in any given series, or for frames in any given flight, the following >is needed: > i. ability to scan in item: maps can easily be up to 4 feet by 5 feet, >and be very detailed, all of which makes considerable demands on a scanning. >Ideally, one would want to be able to put in digital form each of the separates >that were used for printing the map, or be able to separate out the various >layers of information after scanning, in order that users would be able to >manipulate the information in each layer. > ii. ability to link record to other records - parent to child, host to >part, one edition to other editions, one physical format to another physical >format. >j. indexes for air-photo flights and map series: These indexes are extremely >important items; they need to be put in digital form, and if possible used both >for a user to request a given frame/sheet, and for the library to check in the >frames/sheets it has. >k. retrospective cataloging of large map and air-photo collections: Ways to do >this expeditiously would be warmly welcomed by map libraries. For example, with >map collections, one hauls the maps to the computer terminal. Given the >relative weights of the materials involved, it would seem more sensible to haul >the terminal to the maps. >l. legend as part of metadata >m. header as part of metadata >n. being able to generate subject headings from coordinates, and coordinates >from subject headings >o. automatic extraction of metadata >p. idea of concatenated fields in USMARC >q. ease of cataloging for the non-cataloger > > > >Mary Larsgaard >chair, NOTIS/Ameritech SIG CM > > Lori Sugden, Map Curator, Map Library, University of Victoria, Dept. of Geography, Box 3050, Victoria, B.C., Canada V8W 3P5 Internet, [log in to unmask]; phone (604) 721-7356; fax (604) 721-6216