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2
Room 408 is not a public space. It contains large topographic map sets, mainly for
outside of the U.S., and nautical and aeronautical charts.
This view of the room is only half of the length of the room. The materials on top of
the cases are unprocessed purchases, gifts, …
Room 408 is cold and damp year round and has water problems stemming from
failing flashing around the window dormers. The windows in the room have had to
be nailed shut because they opened by themselves during freeze-thaw cycles.
Security is a potential problem as doors into the room have large glass plates and
the wall separating the room from the public hall is architectural paper-maché.
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Some drawers are packed so full that the dust covers or map folders puff up higher
than the map drawer. Occasionally, the weight of maps will bow the bottom of the
drawer downward. Either of these situations can cause drawers to physically lock
together and pull out of the case as a group.
4
One drawer of a very, very large set of detailed German topographic maps from the
early- to mid-20th century. Enjoyed greatly by genealogists.
Some maps can be double-stacked in map drawers because of their relative small
and consistent size.
We’ve
We
ve spent quite a bit of time/energy trying to get this set organized but the
drawers are too full with no place to expand into.
5
Maps at the Geology Library are housed in a small basement room, down a set of
very steep metal stairs from the Geology stacks area.
Security is very much by the honor system. Nothing prevents anyone from
accessing and removing the materials from the Library except for a chain across the
top of the stairs.
6
These lovely oak map cases are highly acidic. We should not be housing library
materials in this equipment.
Additionally, the foot print of the cases is smaller than the standard map case foot
print which could potentially create a need to fold maps that could have been stored
unfolded in other equipment.
Many of these cases currently house US Geological Survey topographic maps
which will be sent to the Map and Geography Library in a controlled process to deduplicate the Library’s collection.
If any part of Geology map collection were to be moved into a facility other than Oak
Street these map cases sho
Street,
should
ld not be the eq
equipment
ipment selected to mo
move
e with
ith them
them.
The best thing to do with them is empty them and send them to Surplus.
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The Geology Library Basement has climate control problems. It generally is warm
and steamy. Plaster on the walls has failed allowing underlying wall structure
(concrete and what appears to be terra cotta panels) to be seen.
The map case in this photographic is touching the ceiling tile. It does not appear
that there is a case top in place – so dirt from the ceiling may be sifting into the
case.
Having cases in such proximity to the ceiling makes it very difficult to retrieve and
file materials. What can’t be seen in this photograph is that there is another very tall
set of map cases immediately to the left of the rolling step ladder. Cases are
stacked very tall and in close proximity to each other creating difficulties in opening
drawers fully.
y
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Oak Street is a high-rise city of books.
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Books are sorted by size, not by content or call number. It brings to life the “little old
librarian” who knows the collection by size, color, and shelf location; “Yes, we have
the book you need. It is the big red book at the left end of the 3rd shelf….”
There are a number of different-size trays for shelving books as compactly as
possible based on similar size. Small pamphlet boxes could fit into trays.
11
Large quartos and folios are shelved laying down. The photograph on the right
shows quarto-sized trays. The photo on the left shows how folios are stacked on
shelves without trays.
12
Another storage option at Oak Street are archival-sized boxes. These could be ideal
for drawers of vertical file materials, items from the Geology Library such as folded
maps (maps that came to the library folded like road maps by the publisher) and
accompanying texts.
13
Jenny’s favorite view – map cases disappearing into infinity. These cases have a
standard footprint with interior drawer sizes approximately 36 x 48 x 2 inches. The
short space above the map cases is being used by Oak Street staff to store rolled
materials.
14
Meet Jessica Efron! Among other things, Jessica is working on cataloging
Geology’s maps.
Jessica is demonstrating the width of the aisles at Oak Street. Aisle width is
determined by the width needed for the cherry picker which is used to retrieve
materials. The resulting aisle is wide enough to be able to fully open map drawers
and stand in front of them.
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It took a full-time employee, working almost solely in Room 408, 7 months to open
each drawer and list the map sets found.
The drawers were assigned numbers and a list was compiled which includes call
number, short title and author, brief description of physical condition, and an
indication of whether the bibliographic record is full, brief, or non-existent, if there is
a holding and item records, and if there is an index map for the set.
In the past 18 months, while working with the Room 408 materials, we have
discovered an additional 40 sets that were either interfiled with other sets or that
had been collapsed with other sets to create a single set. These combined sets are
being pulled apart to facilitate better description.
The Mellon-funded retrospective conversion project that was completed a number
of years ago did maps, and special collections in general, a great disservice.
Incorrect records were pulled into the catalog and overlaid on brief records. Any
time that “MARS” appears at the bottom of a record we need to be certain that we
have checked to make sure that the record truly describes what we have in the
collection.
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The List is very much a working document and is being used to track decisions and
progress.
The original handwritten list (upper left) has been transcribed into an Excel
spreadsheet. Not all columns were transcribed – the original physical condition
column was not included in the Excel file. This data will not be lost as a cardinal rule
in map libraries is to retain all discovered or created documentation. The description
of physical condition often played an important role in making decisions about
retaining materials in Map and Geography or sending them to Oak Street.
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Most of the transfer decisions were made prior to November 2007 with no intention
of revisiting them.
The primary decision venue was the handwritten list of map sets. If the description
in the list was not sufficient to determine what the set was then a visit was paid to
the appropriate map drawer(s).
By selecting and sending map sets, we are able to process multiple sheets on a
single bibliographic and holding record rather than a one-to-one correspondence,
and slower pace, that would be found when working with single-sheet monographic
maps. The goal is to make decisions and then to be able to move large amounts of
material efficiently.
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We have a graduate hourly employee working her way through the list, inspecting
and verifying the bibliographic record for each set marked for transfer.
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Bibliographic records for maps tend to be longer than those for books. They will
include required author, title, and subject access as well as often extensive notes
describing contents, physical description, relationships between corporate authors,
and an indication of how some cartographic elements are depicted.
The brief records (those in all caps which were input when the online catalog
database was initially populated in the 1970s) in the online catalog are especially
problematic for maps. Many include made-up titles because the map set title was
difficult to determine and they are loaded with typographical errors making them
unfindable through any catalog search method.
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We discovered in summer 2009 that the Oak Street collection inventory software
was going
i tto drive
di h
how we processed
d and
d physically
h i ll packaged
k
d maps ffor storage
t
att
Oak Street. The limit of 99 barcodes in a map drawer could severely curtail how
many maps were in each drawer if maps were individually barcoded. To put only 99
map sheets in each map drawer would be using the space to only half of its
capacity. A different plan had to be developed rather than barcoding each map
sheet.
Maps are being grouped approximately 20 maps to a folder (so that folders do not
get too heavy and will lay flat in the drawers), and then the map folders are being
barcoded. Folder contents quickly will add up to the maximum number of maps that
can be stored in a drawer, generally 200 sheets. The inventory software will have no
problem handling the 10-15 barcodes assigned to folders in each drawer.
Users will need to request a folder
folder, and all of its contents
contents, to see a specific sheet
sheet.
This will return a lot of unwanted materials but there are advantages. Map sets are
often numbered so that sheets that depict adjacent areas have similar or sequential
numbers. By requesting a folder, a user will receive the specific map wanted plus
maps that are potentially adjacent to the study area.
Folder stock will also hold up to thumbing through in the map drawers while looking
for a specific barcode much better than individual map sheets. Foldering maps is an
essential preservation step
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Holding records are being created that reflect the contents of each folder. Each
folder will have its own holding record. The individual pieces in the folder are listed
in the holding record. A single item record is attached to accommodate the barcode
placed on the folder.
No map housed at Oak Street will have an individual barcode that is linked to a
record in the system.
22
We would like to find a way to replicate online using an index map to determine the
map(s) that either cover or are most likely to cover a required area.
Index maps help identify map sheet location and coverage – almost like a graphic
version of the index in the back of a book which identifies specific pages where
desired ideas are covered. Index maps help find needed map sheets without
standing in front of the drawer and thumbing through the entire stack.
Index maps and samples from maps in sets need to be scanned to create the
graphic files needed to support online viewing of indexes. Map samples will assist
potential users in determining if a map set will meet their information needs, in
particular the amount of data detail shown, by displaying a typical map portion. Map
samples
p
should be scanned before sending
g them to Oak Street.
File names should be reflective of the call number of the set and whether the file is
the index or the sample.
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One possible way of providing users a view of the set index map along with a
sample image. In a live view of the page, both map images are panable and
zoomable.
The index map, at left, shows the area covered by each map sheet and indicates
what the map sheets are called. They most often are identified by sheet numbers on
index maps. Once the sheet number has been identified, the potential user can
scan the holding records looking for the folder that contains the needed sheet.
The sample map, at right, is included so that potential users have a sense of the
level of detail which might be shown on map sheets included in the set.
While a web
eb page ssuch
ch as this would
o ld be a
available
ailable for viewing
ie ing thro
through
gh a link o
outt of
the bibliographic record, it also might be possible to create a web page that includes
a direct link to each one of the map sets so treated. This could give map users a
more geographically-driven, rather than a bibliographically-driven, entry point.
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The transfer tracking form includes all of the data fields necessary to transfer
materials to Oak Street along with a number of possible ways to populate the fields.
At the top of the form there is a sheet count…. Which by the bottom of the form has
transformed into a barcoded folder/item count. Map and Geography is more
interested in the sheet count while Oak Street needs the barcoded item count.
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Folders are put into drawers at Oak Street with the folded edge at the front. Oak
Street requires that the barcode be placed along the edge of the folder that is
closest to the front of the drawer.
None of the eye-readable information is required for Oak Street. It is for users and
public service staff to make sure that the correct items have been received and that
all of the contents are replaced in the right folder before returning it to Oak Street.
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Our shipping container is a box in which we had received map folders. The pouch at
the upper right is for transmittal documents. We don’t fill the box completely (400
maps in the box in 20 folders makes it VERY heavy!) so we use crumpled-up,
withdrawn maps as filler.
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Two Strongboxes have been ordered for shipping to-and-from Oak Street.
The boxes have arrived and will be sent by Conservation between the building at
Oak Street and the Map and Geography Library on some “test runs” to see if they
need to be modified in any way before really putting them to work hauling maps.
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Identifying, processing, and sending sets of maps to Oak Street should be the first
priority. It will be easier to see, sort, and make decisions about single-sheet maps
after the physical burden of huge sets has been removed from the overcrowded
Geology basement space.
Moving any collection requires an extensive amount of front-end work. This is
never more true than in a collection that is not under complete bibliographic and
inventory control.
The topographic maps that are being sent to the Map and Geography Library is
both a consolidation and a de-duplication effort. The Map and Geography Library
has a substantial collection of older US Geological Survey topographic maps. The
maps
p from the Geology
gy Library
y sometimes duplicate
p
those in Map
p and Geography
g p y
Library and can be withdrawn from the Library’s collections but often they are
editions that the Map and Geography Library does not own.
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The Map and Geography Library has a specific location at Oak Street for maps and
oversized volumes (MAOS). This code indicates to Oak Street and other Library
staff that these materials, when retrieved from Oak Street, are to be sent only to the
Map and Geography Library for use in that library. The maps coming to Oak Street
from Geology will need to have a similar code assigned. The code could indicate
where the materials are to be sent to from Oak Street and if they can be taken out
of the library for use. If a code is defined but found not to work as expected, the
definition and directives can be changed
changed. Not having a code early in the cataloging
process, prior to actual sending of materials to Oak Street, is not a reason to not
move forward. The location code can be easily changed from GEX to _ _ OS in the
holding records when the maps are physically transferred to Oak Street.
Map folders, pamphlet boxes, and perhaps archival boxes will be needed to
physically arrange materials for Oak Street
Street. They can be requested through library
conservation/preservation.
Assistance will be needed to scan large index maps. Samples of maps can be
easily scanned on a desktop-sized scanner. Additionally, server space will be
needed as well as help in putting together index/sample web pages and making
links in the online catalog
catalog.
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Moving maps from Map and Geography to Oak Street is not a speedy process. The
space being freed is already earmarked for housing materials that are currently
being stored in less-than-appropriate conditions in the Map and Geography Library.
The Map and Geography Library might be able to accommodate small amounts of
materials but not any large geology map sets.
If map cases are installed at another location, a location that is more book and
bound journal oriented, the cases must either be in a locked room or must have a
locking mechanism installed. If in a locked room, the room should be unlocked by a
library staff member and its use proctored by library staff. If using lockable map
cases, the map cases should be unlocked by library staff and immediately relocked
after retrieval has been made.
Staff may need to be somewhat knowledgeable about map use, map reading, and
map collection care. If maps may be borrowed by library users, process and
procedures will need to be established and appropriate carry-containers (aka map
tubes) will need to be created.
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Cataloging and processing maps is time intensive. Delays now could create
noticeable impacts on the end situation.
Because many decisions will be made, some of them quite quickly and for materials
that are seemingly very similar, complete documentation of decisions and actions
needs to be prepared and retained.
It may feel as if decisions are being made for reasons that can not be fully
articulated. With only antidotal use data, there is little to base decisions on beyond
personal experience gained through working with a wide variety of materials and
users. Generally, if a clear reason can’t be established to retain something in a
central campus library location then it should be sent to Oak Street.
No decision made or work completed will be wasted, regardless of future
developments in the location of the Geology map collection. Even if the collection
were to remain wholly in place having it completely cataloged and fully inventoried
would be a boon to public service and collection administration and development.
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Empty map drawers in Map and Geography  full map drawers at Oak Street
Thus far, 2,257 maps have been sent out of Map and Geography, emptying 9
drawers.
Plans are already underway to fill the recovered space!!!!!
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