Map Libraries and Archives

Abstract

Map libraries and archives have traditionally served as storehouses of geographical information in paper format. In the digital era, the content and function of map libraries have begun to change. With the increasing availability of digital mapping and geospatial data in the 1990s, many map libraries introduced geographic information system (GIS) facilities and services, and their curators acquired appropriate new skills. Issues such as the production of metadata, online spatial searching, the development of the distributed geolibrary, and the conservation and future-proofing of data held on electronic media are all being addressed. Major map libraries have been active in making digital surrogates of paper maps and have negotiated with national mapping agencies and governments to secure and preserve contemporary geodata for the future. More recently the World Wide Web has enabled digital data to be delivered directly from originator to user, bypassing the map library, and the 1990s and early 2000s saw the closure of some university collections. However, there remains an undiminished need for map librarians and archivists to extend their traditional reference services to provide access, support, and advice to the users of digital data sets, and to ensure the preservation of time-dependent data for the future.