This depends very much which 'value' you are trying to establish :

- book value (price paid or valuation calculated for tax purposes to
original donor for an item );
- market  value (willing buyer, willing seller);
- replacement value (retail cost of replacement based on an average
of several suppliers);
- net discounted value (based on purchase price less depreciation).

I would suggest that for most  maps published over the past 20 years
their market value would be a fraction of the retail price; whereas
replacement costs for o.p. materials might be retail plus, etc.

For 'early maps' - say pre - 1914, market values could be very high
and have climbed enormously over the past 20 years - so 'book value'
would seriously underestimate the costs of replacement or market
values.  These probably need individual item values assigned which
should be reviewed every 5 years or so.

It really is important to examine the collection's (or the
institution's) insurance terms to ensure that catastrophic loss
through flood or fire would be covered adequately, and that senior
administration is aware of the nature of the collection's  financial
risk and exposure with the possible implications to past and future
donors and fund raising efforts.

If you don't mind a smidgen of commercial advertising here,  my
company will perform a valuation service for individuals and  map
collections based on an extensive data base of map values and sales
over the past 30 years.

Inquiries off list please.

Sincerely,

D.r Iain Taylor
North by West


>>Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>From: "Paul Cooper" <[log in to unmask]>
>>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>Subject: RE: Estimating value of map collection
>>Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 19:39:01 +0100
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>>Dear Clare,
>>
>>I tried to post this to LIS-MAPS, but I am working at home and the posting
>>was rejected. Can you please post it on LIS-MAPS?
>>
>>
>>I don't know about yours, but ours certainly contains a lot of material that
>>could not be replaced - maps that are out of print, were only ever produced
>>in very small runs or are only available as manuscripts. It is of little or
>>no commercial value, but is of value in resolving issues such as feature
>>naming, the history of exploration and even documenting change. If I were
>>ever asked, I would simply state that there were aspects of the work of our
>>organization (naming them) that would be severely hampered if the map
>>collection were dispersed. You are in a similar position, I guess - your OS
>>maps are a historical resource as well as a current one, and copies of older
>>versions cannot readily be purchased. You have to ask what is the value to
>>your clients of the service you provide - what would it cost if they had to
>>go elsewhere, what would be the cost of lost research opportunities if you
>>did not provide the basis of a wel-founded laboratory and so on. I would say
>>it isn't the value of the stock you should be looking at - that may well be
>>priceless - but the value of the service you provide.
>>
>>Paul Cooper
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: A forum for issues related to map & spatial data librarianship
>>[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Clare Gordon
>>Sent: 25 May 2004 10:45
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Estimating value of map collection
>>
>>
>>Does anybody have any ideas about how to estimate the value of a map
>>collection, please?  I've been asked to do this for insurance purposes in
>>the past, but this time I need to come up with a figure for "political"
>>reasons and I may need to be able to defend it in a staff meeting.
>>Last time I think I came up with an average price based on the replacement
>>cost of the maps that were fairly easy to find out (such as the BGS 1:50 000
>>series, and the OS Landranger and 1:10 000 sheets), then multiplied that
>>average price by the total number of sheets in the collection.
>>
>>Thank you for any suggestions.
>>
>>Clare Gordon
>>
>>Librarian / Web Manager
>>
>>School of Earth Sciences
>>The University
>>Leeds
>>LS2 9JT
>>U.K.
>>
>>Tel: 0113 343 5210
>>Fax: 0113 343 5259
>>Email: [log in to unmask]
>>Website: http://earth.leeds.ac.uk/
>>
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>
>Librarian / Web Manager
>
>School of Earth Sciences
>The University
>Leeds
>LS2 9JT
>U.K.
>
>Tel: 0113 343 5210
>Fax: 0113 343 5259
>Email: [log in to unmask]
>Website: http://earth.leeds.ac.uk/