At 18:52 23/04/02 +0100, you wrote:
>Dear Humphrey,
>
>I got your previous email after sending mine up - yes!!! this is what's
>needed - will there be access to it by place-name as well as post-code
>(people researching ancestors who went to Australia or Zimbabwe tend to
>know 'Surrey' not 'GU12 5LF')
Yes, of course. Not much use as an authority if it is not searchable by
placename as well as location.
... which reminds me of a grouse about the English Heritage "Timeline"
system, which is searchable by name of a period, but not by date. As I
understand it, this is not because dates are not in there but because the
on-line system used access software written for thesaurii in general. This
may help people understand why our system will NOT be a place-name
THESAURUS: we are prioritising location in space over hierarchic position.
Best wishes,
Humphrey Southall
===============================================
Humphrey Southall
Reader in Geography/Director,
Great Britain Historical GIS Project
Department of Geography, University of Portsmouth
Buckingham Building, Lion Terrace, Portsmouth PO1 3HE
GIS Project Office: (023) 9284 2500
Home office: (020) 8853 0396
Mobile: (07736) 727928
Web site: http://www.gbhgis.org
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