As surveying technology changes, many of library’s 15,000 maps become obsolete
Beginning this semester, McLaughlin Library will begin an extensive review and de-selection of its print map collection.
Much of the collection is now out of date, and newer, electronic technologies have rendered many of these maps obsolete. Print maps are, on the whole, a dying format and the library is hoping trim the excess from its collection.
There are approximately 15,000 maps and atlases in library’s collection, and according to Information Resources Librarian Helen Salmon, the library is looking to remove about 60 per cent of that number.
The deselected maps will be offered to other Ontario university libraries that may wish to fill out their own collections. Any maps not claimed will be recycled. The library notes that its off-campus storage annex is already at capacity.
The library hopes to recover the area where the maps are currently housed (in the basement of McLaughlin library) for additional study space. The library is also keen to ensure that its collection is kept as current as possible.
“We regularly de-select items which are no longer accurate or relevant, and which might be duplicated by new ways of publishing or access,” said Salmon. “The library has never done this kind of review of our print map collections before, and many of our older maps are extremely outdated and not relevant to our current academic programs.”
As a depository library for the federal and provincial government for many years, the U of G library has received copies of every map published by the government’s print map services program. In 2012, that program was shut down as Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and electronic maps continued to displace traditional print mapping.
The university has been cultivating a GIS collection for some time and, according to library staff, print maps are rarely used anymore.
“Consultations with faculty in the departments where maps are a core information source have indicated that GIS and data resources rather than print maps are strongly preferred for both teaching and research purposes,” said the library in a press release.
Maps that are duplicates of the library’s GIS holdings, that are clearly outdated or not relevant to U of G curriculum or research programs, and of which there are multiple copies, will be removed from the collection.
The library intends to preserve maps that relate to U of G’s areas of specialization and that are important to U of G’s stewardship responsibilities to the province and the city of Guelph.
As a consequence, maps of the local area will be preserved, as will those pertaining to agriculture, forestry, and environmental science, in addition to rare maps and maps which may be of historical importance.
Deciding which maps are to be preserved while ensuring that alternate forms of deselected maps still exist – not to mention dealing with the sheer volume of materials – pose the greatest challenges for the project team.
The library anticipates that the de-selection process will be completed by August 2014.