A fair point re 'Directory of UK map collections', but this is only as
good as information fed to it: access policies to map libraries do
change, and university ones are generally less accessible to non-uni
(or even non-dept) members than they were...
Richard Oliver
On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:15:46 +0100 Francis Herbert
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Richard:
>
> One would expect, in the normal process of things, that the online [4th
> edition of] BCS Map Curators' Group 'Directory of UK map collections'
> [see: http://www.cartography.org.uk/] (but admittedly undergoing
> revision) would enlighten as to public accessibility:) I haven't
> checked against the page for 'Map Curators' Toolbox' to see if any
> useful info or links are there (that page is dated December 2005 . . .).
>
> Dear Tricia Gwynn-Jones:
>
> Following on from above, and more pertinently: what efforts have been
> made to publicise the collection - both within and outside IC - and to
> discover what users' requirements (and disappointments) have been and
> are likely to be; and how remedied? Why does it comprise, or largely
> include, "a lot of elderly and little used material."? A check against
> 'COPAC' - with all its limitations of variance in cataloguing standards
> - would be but one deciding factor of "whether a map is kept, or deleted
> from stock."
>
> These are merely some thinking and discussion points, from a piece of
> "elderly and little used material . . . deleted from stock"!
> Francis Herbert (ex-Curator of Maps, RGS-IBG)
> [log in to unmask]
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: A forum for issues related to map & spatial data librarianship
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Richard Oliver
> Sent: 18 July 2008 11:35
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Collection development policy
>
> An answer to this question depends on two things: (1) how accessible
> the collection is, and (2) what use is made of the various items.
>
> As regards (1), is it just a resource for the insitution, or are the
> general public allowed in? If the latter, then you have the problem
> that the collection may be known to have certain things, and disposal
> could create a PR problem, with ramifications way beyond the immediate
> job in hand.
>
> As reagrds (2), one method of deciding whether mapping is really wanted
> or not is to list it up and circulate the lists to colleagues. This may
> flush out areas of interest and apathy (in more than one sense).
>
> I have no idea what your collection contains, and the following
> suggestion may be irrelevant. It often happens that a large proportion,
> by space, is occupied by teaching and fieldwork sets of topographic
> maps, which haven't been used for years. If lists are circulated, then
> that may elicit whether or not they are wanted.
>
> It is useful to note dates: saying one has, say, a complete set of OS
> 1:25,000 may rouse enthusiasm, but if they are 1940s-50s, that may
> produce groans - and if you are looking to trim the collection, the
> groans may be useful!
>
> Richard Oliver
>
> On Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:23:49 +0100 "Gwynn-Jones, Tricia"
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Dear lis-mappers
> >
> > May I ask for your collective advice. I'm new to maps, and probably
> > will be asking more questions of you in the future!
> >
> > For the moment, the query is about collection development. I have a
> lot
> > of elderly and little used material. What criteria do you use to
> decide
> > whether a map is kept, or deleted from stock? Have any
> > colleges/universities got this sort of information on their websites
> so
> > we can have a look at policies and procedures?
> >
> > Best wishes
> > tricia
> >
> > P A Gwynn-Jones
> > SLA: Faculty Support (Earth Science & Engineering)
> > Central Library
> > South Kensington Campus
> > Imperial College London
> > SW7 2AZ
> > phone: 020 7594 7323
> > email: [log in to unmask]
-------------------
Richard Oliver, B.A., D.Phil., F.B.Cart.S.,
Research Fellow in the History of Cartography
School of Geography, Archaeology & Earth Resources
University of Exeter
Exeter, EX4 4RJ
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