"Geographers examine changing patterns of vegetation to study global warming; they analyze where ethnic groups live in Bosnia to help understand the pros and cons of competing administrative solutions to the civil war there; they map AIDS cases in Africa to learn how to reduce the spread of the disease." ~ Alexander Murphy
"A discipline whose domains are 'space' and 'place' and anything that operates within them, or characterizes aspects of them, or flows among them people, water, beliefs, digital data can only be a vast and disparate one." ~Peter Monaghan
"It is well known that geography is a small tree by any standard in the jungle of academia." ~ Daniel Sui
"It's almost painful to contemplate how quickly an expensive book can become outdated, but the reality is that even the most carefully researched, beautifully written, solidly crafted geography book will need to be replaced every few years." ~ Susan Dove Lempke
"It's a better time to be a publisher of arm-chair travel than traditional guidebooks. People don't stop reading when they stop traveling." ~ O' Reilly
"It a lot cheaper to buy a book than it is to buy an airplane ticket." ~ Janet Silver
"As with book publishing, travel used to be a general-interest market. Now it's segmented into niches: adventure, gay, single parent, grandparent -- a finer slicing of the pie in terms of what people want." ~ Keith Bellows
"Ultimately the Internet has been positive for travel books; it has promoted travel literacy in general and people are getting grooved on using some of this information." ~ Bill Newlin
"With the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos." ~ Miguel Helft
"What is happening is the creation of this extremely detailed map of the world that is being created by all the people in the world." ~ John Hanke
"In general, the Internet facilitates word of mouth and it accelerates trends. It fuels the growth of destinations. Ten years ago, this was done literally through word of mouth." Tom MercerLarsgaard's Map Librarianship remains the standard guide. Information Sources in Cartography by Perkins and Parry is another standard. Muehrcke's Map Use: Reading, Analysis, and Interpretation remains most useful as is Arthur Robinson's Elements of Cartography. the American Library Association has a Map and Geography Roundtable and the Special Libraries Association has its Geography and Map Division. The Western Association of Map Libraries also publishes a useful information bulletin. In the Southeast, there is the Committee on Southeast Map Libraries, Association of American Geographers, Southeast Division. MAPS-L is the discussion list for map librarianship and is an essential current awareness source.
Geography is partially a social science [human geography], partially a natural science [physical geography], and partially a technology [remote sensing, GPS].
Geography is the accurate, orderly, and rational description and interpretation of the various characteristics of the earth's surface and human interaction with those characteristics.
Geography is the systematic study of our experience in space. Geographers study planet surfaces, the zone of contact between people and the landscape. This science of relationships in space is characterized by distance and area. More specifically, geographers look at patterns of spatial distributions of phenomena.
Geography examines the whereness of things: beyond the description of where Knoxville is, geographers ask why Knoxville is there, and how its location helps explain the sort of place it is, and is there a pattern here that could be applied elsewhere.
Geographers study the distribution of physical and cultural phenomena on local, regional, continental, and global scales. They are interested in the relationship between people and place or people and their environment. Geographers observe, visualize, analyze, and model spatial relationships.
Geodesy is the science which measures the surface dimensions, gravity, and magnetic force fields of the earth.
The GeoWeb includes the web-based tools and cartographic products resulting from Internet mapping and map creation/customization services. Google Maps with its "My maps" feature is a good example of how "mashups"or "maplets" can create new, personalized maps. In the near future, 3D digital maps will increasingly be available to supplement the 2D ones. Yahoo's Flickr has more than 25 million images that are "geotagged" so they can viewed on a map. Other examples include Maps24, Yahoo Maps, Maporama, and Mappy.
Many people, from the beginning of time, have an urge to travel to see what lies over the next hill. In the early days, geography was based primarily upon the observations of travelers (amateur geographers). One could argue that geography is the "literature of travel." As a side note, some suggest that tourism may be the world's largest industry by 2020.
"Maps are graphic representations that facilitate a spatial understanding of things, concepts, conditions, processes, or events in the human world." Since maps are created by humans, they can be biased. Maps became less of an art and more scientific with the advent of printing with movable type which allowed maps to be created and sold in large uniform numbers. The European voyages of discovery also stimulated an interest in maps and made their creation more profitable. As nation-states began to be formed, governments began to use maps as part of government command and control. By the 18th Century, new surveying techniques make it possible for relief maps to show the earth's surface in three dimensions. The U.S. Geological Survey was established in 1879. Rand McNally was established in 1856 and dominated U.S. map making for many years. Today, aerial and satellite photography has made it relatively easy to map isolated places.
Over time, maps have become increasingly accurate and precise. Maps & Civilization by Norman Thrower is a good introduction to the history of maps. The leading scholarly periodical for cartography is Imago Mundi.
For many lay people, geography and maps are synonymous with the National Geographic Society. The Society has released an eight CD-ROM set containing all the maps that have appeared in the NGS periodical from 1889 through 1997.
Information professionals who work with maps should subscribe to the discussion list MAPS-L. It is an excellent source of current awareness information and a good place for queries.
While maps are crucial to geography, most geographers are not cartographers. However, today's desktop mapping software and access to large data sets from GIS data bases makes it easier than ever for geographers without cartographic training or even lay people to create useful, pleasing maps.
A map is a model of a place based on observation and precise measurement. The projection used in creating a map is the "type of distortion that occurs when a curved area is forced onto a flat surface." The map is also a display of an aggregate of geographic information by a cartographer. The digital map is an aggregate of information selected by the user.
The United States Geological Survey has been the largest producer of maps in the United States. Because of budgetary problems, fewer maps are issued today. Geographic databases plus cartographic software allow maps to be created on demand and reduce the need for agencies to prepare and distribute maps.
Evaluating maps, including maps in atlases or elsewhere, can be a complex and timely process. In evaluating a map or a collection of maps, we usually ask four questions
The number of place entries in the index and whether places appear in both the index and on a map are crucial.
In general, we look at these variables:
About 80 percent of all information held by business and government may be geographically referenced. About 70 percent of the information needed by business relates in some way to maps. GIM or "geographic information management" is an applied geographic field focused on the practical use of geographic information for business and government. "Geographic information ... is information about the distribution of phenomena on the surface of the earth [and the near surface]." This is certainly inclusive since it includes any information that describes the Earth and the human activities upon it.
All human activity is geographic. Geography is a bridge between the natural and the social sciences, between environment and behavior. Some have called it the integrative science of man. All of the social sciences consider human - environment interactions since all human activity has a place aspect.
Geography, like the other social science disciplines, goes back to the beginning of human kind. From the beginning, people have described places and how to get to them as well as making maps. Geography gives "man an orderly description of his world." More recently, geography looks at the locational considerations involved in almost all human decisions.
Geography is unique in that from the beginning it attempted to be world-wide in its orientation where other social sciences focused primarily on a particular place, usually developed Western societies. After the second World War, the other social sciences became more interested in the whole world.
Geography claims to understand:
One of the notable changes in 20th Century geography has been a change of focus from a "fixed concept of space" to space as a "sphere of multiple interrelationships, always in the process of becoming." Boundaries are increasingly permeable
When looking at geography, certain themes emerge. Here are some major ones.
Place or the careful observation/examination/description of a particular environment is especially important. Until recently, much geographic work involved considerable field work.
Environmental themes focus on the processes and patterns in the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. Often, the focus is on the landscape and how natural and man-made forces impact it.
Human - environment interaction themes look at how the environment shapes human activity and how human activity shapes the environment. Relationships within places, particularly how places evolve and develop, receive much attention. The movement of people and goods is also important.
Area studies focus on the attributes of a particular region, looking for unique qualities and comparing one region with another. How regions are formed and how they change is of continuing interest. Regions studied might have common characteristics like arid regions or be a particular region such as the Southeastern U.S.
Spatial analysis looks at the relationship between elements in a geographic distribution. Patterns, of retail site selection for example, are particularly important.
Applied (sometimes called "technical geography") geography is the practical side of the discipline. It examines how geographical knowledge and techniques can be used to solve practical problems such as where to locate a new retail outlet or how to use GIS technology to assign police to high crime areas.
Human geography is concerned with the spatial organization of society. In the beginning, the focus was on the description of the places where people lived. More recently, economic activities receive more attention with some emphasis on the regional distribution of resources and economic activities. Environmental issues also receive attention, but the focus is more on how landscape affects people than the reverse.
Climatology is the study of the climate of a particular place. Climate has considerable impact on the quality of life and on economic issues. For example, lack of rain has a notable impact on grain growers.
Cultural geography is more humanities oriented. It looks at the representation and impact of place in art, music, and literature. Cultural geography also considers the geographical distribution of cultural activity
Demography is properly the study of human population, including change by place. Besides birth and death, migration and immigration are also important topics. Demography has a strong geographic orientation.
Economic geography examines economic resources and activities by place. Knowing where tin deposits may be found is an example.
Historical geography looks at historical phenomena by place. Typically, historical geography is seen as part of history rather than geography.
Planning, whether urban or regional, may be part of human geography or may be a separate profession. Interest in planning emerged based on factors such as the municipal reform movement, concerns about building better communities and lifting them above prevailing, haphazard, and crowded conditions, and civic ideals for creating graceful coherent urban places in America.
Political geography is more than the study of borders and boundaries. A wide variety of political phenomena may be considered. In the past, political and military geography have received considerable attention in schools. Knowing the capital of the 50 states is an example of political geography. Political geography may also include the profession of planning.
Social geography is relatively recent and relates a variety of social conditions to place. Marriage, divorce, crime, poverty, education, and income by place are good examples.
A sub discipline may be created by combining almost any topic/subject with geography. For example, add geography following these terms:
A geographer can examine almost any phenomenon. For example, in librarianship a famous study on the "geography of reading" examined the placement of libraries and book stores.
Physical geography evolved from geology and other natural sciences. In fact, this is more of a natural science rather than a social one. Physical geography is concerned with environmental variables:
Geography began with the Greeks who explored and described in a somewhat systematic way by capturing their observations and making maps. While ancient maps have been lost, maps were created from the beginning of travel to more distant places.
In the U.S., geography as an academic discipline evolved from Geology and the discipline still has a strong natural science orientation. In 1903, the first department of geography was established at the University of Chicago to integrate geology, climatology, history, sociology, political economy, and biology.
For many years, physical geography was associated with geology and human geography was associated with history (where wars happened) or economics (where does tin come from?).
World War II revealed dramatic gaps in our geographical knowledge, especially in Asia. Considerable government interest in geographical knowledge followed. After the War, many veterans were interested in the geography of foreign places.
By the 1950s, there was a decided movement by younger geographers to use more statistics, modeling, and abstraction in their research and teaching. At the same time, there was a gradual shift of emphasis from the physical landscape to the human landscape. Often, human geography had a regional emphasis so that general geography suffered.
Geography graduate programs at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Michigan and other research universities closed or were reduced in the 1960s and 70s. Down sizing or elimination of university geography departments caused considerable difficulty for the discipline.
Geography remains split between physical and human geography. There is increasing fragmentation among the sub disciplines. Physical geographers have little to say to human geographers and vice versa. GIS (Geographic Information Systems) has considerable potential to revitalize the field, but it is applied and emphasizes technical achievement and market orientation rather than more traditional research.
Digital geospatial data, from both Earth and beyond, is simply overwhelming while also providing many interesting and unique opportunities for scholars and users of geographic information. The U.S. Department of the Interior Geospatial One-Stop portal is a good example of the future of geography.
Geography was one of the first social science disciplines to be concerned with precise measurement. For a long time, geography was mostly a descriptive science. Geographers went into the field and created a verbal or mostly qualitative picture of the landscape. but more accurate maps and directions required more precise measurement. The discipline has borrowed much from mathematics, physics, and economics. Genuine precision was not possible until after the 1960s when space based remote sensing (remote sensing obtains information about the surface of a planet from a distance, usually from a satellite) technology became available.
Traditionally, Chicago, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Berkeley, Washington, Ohio State, and Penn State have been academic leaders. There are relatively few academic geographers, perhaps 4000 to 7000. Geographers are overwhelmingly male.
There are many associations and organizations devoted to geography and travel. Here are the most important academic ones:
While the job market has improved for those interested in the more practical aspects of GIS, there has been a decline in the market for academic geographers. In the past, the Federal government has been a major employer, especially in the Commerce and Interior Departments. With budget reductions, these opportunities are limited. At the same time, there is increased business interest, especially in geography and marketing.
Those employed outside academe may not be called "geographer," but they are certainly engaged in geographic work. Often, they are involved in various forms of planning and environmental analysis. Public planning is the main public non-academic occupation. In business, there is considerable interest in GIS and the use of geographic technology for site analysis.
Most cultural geography texts are written with a notable Western, North Atlantic countries, bias. Too often in the past and sometimes today there has been little coverage of women, children, and men who live in less industrialized societies. Some suggest that such texts reinforce "a perspective of the non-western world as largely backward and underdeveloped.
Determinism has long been a problem with many geographers believing that human behavior results from a single or simple geographical stimulus.
There are relatively few geographers, perhaps 7000 or so in academe, and the discipline has not been popular among university administrators. Some noted geography departments have closed, and geography has not been seen as essential in a first-rate university. The discipline has been much more popular in Europe and the U.K. Still, geography in the U.S. has grown and prospered in the last few years. GIS has played a considerable role as has increased interest in environmental issues. Clearly, "earth's natural and human environments are being changed in increasing rates, over larger scales, and in fundamentally new ways...." Mission-oriented research has become more popular with funders.
A common theme in the academic disciplines, here geographers, is that members of the discipline interact "only with those who share their interests, philosophies, methods, and specialized language." Synthesis and making connections between the various parts of the geographic realm is difficult with so much specialization as seen in the growing number of specialty groups in AAG.
About 40 percent of academic position postings are in physical geography, but physical geographers often feel slighted by the national associations. This is interesting because for most of its history geography was dominated by physical geographers. Geography needs to strengthen the relationship between physical and human geography. There are very few general geographers today.
Geography has had relatively little impact upon the other social sciences during the last decades.
There is much less field work and greater reliance on secondary data, especially in human geography. Remote sensing has had a notable impact.
Use of foreign language sources and foreign area research has declined.
Many critics argue that geography has failed in the public schools where it has become mere spot location, place-finding or the geographic equivalent of hunt and peck. Reportedly, 25% of Texas high school seniors did not know that Mexico was the country immediately to the South. The National Geographic/Roper Global Geographic Literacy Survey yields depressing results. Clearly, U.S. students are not well prepared to live in the global village. Since the emergence of social studies in 1916, geography has increasingly been pushed aside. In many schools, geography is still memorization and recall of place name data. In 1986, the National Geographic Society began a variety of major initiatives, including the Geography Bee, to increase geographical awareness. However, that still focuses on recall of particular facts. K12 education does little to create a sense of what geographers do and why geography is truly intellectually stimulating.
Environmental awareness has created an interest in relating physical and human geography to the preservation of flora and fauna. Such concerns as global warming and Amazon rain forests lead to involvement in somewhat controversial policy issues.
The considerable emphasis on physical geography, including land and soil surveys, weather, and geology have made geography seem distant from many political concerns. Too, many geographers have not been interested in application or applied geography. However, city and regional planners are interested and are the best example of geography as a policy science. Since most educated adults know little of geography, including our leaders, they are not likely to think of geography as useful in solving difficult problems. Too, "planning" has a socialist/communist ring to many conservatives.
However, GIS systems are beginning to have considerable impact on the organization of local and state government services, especially in relation to planning. City and regional planners have played an important role in policy development in metropolitan areas.
Physical geography borrows heavily from the natural sciences of geology and physics. Human geography borrows from anthropology and sociology for the cultural landscape, economics for the economic landscape, and political science for the political landscape as well as history for the historical landscape.
In the last decade, technology has had a dramatic impact upon geography. Remote sensing (Landsat and SPOT) and aerial photography have accurately captured the landscape in considerable detail. Landscape measurements are increasingly precise. The Global Positioning System (GPS) allows accurate place identification data collection for several audiences. For example, a trucking company can use GPS to see exactly where all of its trucks are located. Improved technology has substantially increased the value of geography to government and industry. It is easier today to see and understand large scale relationships. Sequential images show change over time. There has been some criticism of the increased importance of technology in the discipline. Some fear that geography could become a "technical semi-professional field."
As briefly mentioned above, web-based map creation and individualization tools have made it possible for lay people to create maps to meet particular needs. This dramatically expands the number of map makers. It also makes it possible for more detailed maps of specific areas and the rapid creation of a large number of thematic maps. For example, it is now relatively easy for a public library to create a map showing exactly where its card holders live. Cartography and geography will become increasingly important as more amateurs discover the delight and utility of map making and map using.
Don't confuse GIS and GPS. GPS stands for Global Positioning system. It is a satellite-based navigation system that helps people to determine their location within a few meters. This is much more accurate than all but a few maps. Today, GPS and computers that can handle large volumes of data allow us to track activity or features in the real world in real time. GIS is software that overlays demographic or other data on digital maps of geographic features. GIS is a relatively recent development with the first major milestone being the release of TIGER in 1988.
[GIS is pronounced as "ges"] Here the focus is on spatially referenced digital data. "A Geographic Information System is a computer system that stores geographic information in database form and can manipulate and display that information, usually as maps." Information about any place can be digitally recorded, linked to place co-ordinates and quantitatively analyzed. Fast, inexpensive desktop computers with GIS software and plotters or color printers create individualized or custom maps from geographic databases. Good popular examples are the trip maps produced by several travel planning web sites. GIS is useful for a wide range of disciplines and professions, but especially in the social sciences. Natural resource management and regulatory applications, including land use planning and zoning, transportation and communication planning, and Emergency response management already rely heavily on GIS.
A geographic information system is a computer system designed to collect, store, retrieve, manipulate, and display spatial data. Costs are rapidly declining with the decline of cost of substantial computer hardware and software. Use of GIS may be increasing at 25 percent to 40 percent per year. Until recently, GIS was primarily used to automate map creation.
CAM or computer-aided mapping can create so-called "intelligent maps" that update themselves automatically whenever a change is made in the database.
The new data gathering technology created and emphasized the importance of substantial, complicated data bases because so much geographic information could be gathered so quickly. Individualized geographic information can now appear on everyone's desktop. The cost of hardware and software continues to decline and become more affordable. To some degree, GIS decreases the need for cartographic knowledge and skill since the software makes the maps. Individualized maps or maps for a small audience are now feasible and production is very quick. Digital databases allow almost anyone to make a usable map and one that is as current as the data in the database.
Much geographic data is secondary data created by public and private agencies as they go about their business. Some of this data becomes publicly available and some of it remains proprietary. The agenda and the budget those agencies determines what data is available and what questions may be answered. This may lead geographers to ignore primary data collection. It also reduces the need for some kinds of field work such as recording landscape features or gathering data/information from residents.
Few academic libraries provide access to the hardware, training, and software needed for users to prepare individualized maps, but a GIS lab is a valuable service, especially since it may be more difficult to duplicate elsewhere on campus. Environmental Systems Research Institute [ESRI] software is the leader here. GIS creation and use is an interdisciplinary initiative since virtually all subjects have a geographical aspect and can be mapped. Census data is especially useful and American FactFinder provides examples of how easy it is to create good, quick, individualized maps.
Nearly all census information is linked to a particular place or location. In preparing for the 1990 ten year census, the Census Bureau decided to create a geographic data base for all the locations related to the Census. This data base was called TIGER. "The term TIGER comes from the acronym Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing which is the name for the system and digital database developed at the Census Bureau to support its mapping needs for the Decennial Census and other Bureau programs." What Is TIGER? "The TIGER/Line files are a digital database of geographic features, such as roads, railroads, rivers, lakes, political boundaries, census statistical boundaries, etc. covering the entire United States. The data base contains information about these features such as their location in latitude and longitude, the name, the type of feature, address ranges for most streets, the geographic relationship to other features, and other related information. They are the public product created from the Census Bureau's TIGER (Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) data base of geographic information. TIGER was developed at the Census Bureau to support the mapping and related geographic activities required by the decennial census and sample survey programs. These files are not graphic images of maps, but rather digital data describing geographic features. To create a map from this data, a user must have mapping or Geographic Information System (GIS) software that can import TIGER/Line data."
Value-added information providers have used the TIGER database to create a variety of geographic products for business and personal use. Some of these products are available on CD-ROM or DVD products and are relatively inexpensive.Others are available on the web. U.S. Federal government depository libraries have received considerable geographic data and some of it may be used with GIS or mapping software. Not all distributed files are compatible with popular mapping software. The leading mapping software is produced by ARC/INFO [ESRI].
For many years, some geographers have suggested that the natural landscape produces certain kinds of human behavior. Others focus on how human behavior modified the landscape. The growth of ecology encourages study of the interdependence of the human and natural landscape.
Is there one geography or several? Cultural geography is pulled toward anthropology and sociology, economics, political science. Urban geography is engulfed by sociology and anthropology. Physical geography is pulled to geology and other natural sciences such as geophysics. Physical geography is increasingly separate from cultural or human. Fragmentation also involves regional versus general geography and historical versus contemporary geography. Twigging is also a problem:
As is true of the other social sciences, periodicals and scholarship focus on the special interest and geographers have less and less in common.
Geography must be more than a collection of curious facts--how high is this mountain or what is the capital of that? Yet generalizations are based on collections of facts. Over time, geography has placed more emphasis on analysis and relationships. Some of this has begun to appear in school curricula, but geography in public school is still fact-laden.
Techniques vary widely from anthropology like field description to use of massive data bases of data gathered from space. The economic geographer looks to economics. The historical geographer looks to history. The political geographer looks to political science. All need data with geographic reference or access points. A large number of variables need to be considered. In the past, physical variables received much more attention than the social variables. Critics argue that too much research has been done in Western Europe and North America. Geographers tend to begin with a theory and search for supporting facts rather than the opposite.
Typically, about 14 months elapses between completion of research and publication. Another 19 months elapse before work appears in an abstracting service. About 25 percent of the research articles are based on the dissertation or thesis research.
Historically, geographic information flows slowly so informal communication has been especially important. Interest in physical geography has declined over time. Regional geography was strongest between the 1920s - 1940s. Publication in historical geography has not been strong. There has been considerable growth in publications using statistical methods. Economic geography has increased notably in popularity.
Geography is much more than maps but maps represent an essential modeling tool. Cartographers take the real world and create a model of it in a map while the user takes the map and creates a model of the real world.
Most research libraries began their map collections with "free" surplus U.S. government sheet maps following World War II. Sometimes, these maps were housed and managed by the geography or some other academic department. Not until the 1960s were maps incorporated into campus libraries and even then they were often treated poorly. Map collections may not be fully cataloged or classified. When they are, subject access is often confusing to the user. For example, maps of Maryville, Tennessee would be found under Maryville (TN.)--maps but a railroad map would be under Railroads--Tennessee--Maryville--Maps. Topographic maps are found under State--Maps, topographic.
Project Alexandria is creating a digital library with easy access to large, diverse collections of geo-referenced material.
The information professional will find that both ALA and SLA have special interest groups for those interested in geography and map librarianship. ALA has the Map and Geography Round Table and SLA has the Map and Geography Round Table. MAPS-L is the discussion list devoted to map librarianship while GIS-L is devoted to geographical information systems.
Working with maps requires familiarity with geography and cartography, database and spreadsheet experience, a basic knowledge of statistics and of GIS software. It is fascinating work, especially with so many exciting new products and possibilities.
About 75 percent of all maps are Federal government publications. USGS maps have been part of the depository library program since 1984. In the future, few hard copy maps will be available because of production costs. Digital maps are already replacing the print ones. Poor bibliographic control of maps issued by some agencies, especially in regional offices, continues to be a problem.
A basic map collection for a public or academic library should begin with the county where the library is located, then the state, then the region, and finally the U.S. For your county, consider 1:24,000 and 1:50,000 scale plus the USGS topographic maps. Note that digital substitutes require appropriate viewing and printing equipment. City maps for cities in your county are also important and may be available from county government or the chamber of commerce. If affordable, consider aerial photographs of your country. The Earth Science Information Center should be able to help with that.
Assisting the user in selecting, reading, interpreting, and creating maps can involve considerable effort. Most map users are undergraduate students working on an assignment, then graduate students. Most map users are students with course work in geography/geology, history, political science, anthropology, and economics.
Typically, users do not understand how to select, read or interpret maps. Map titles are often non distinctive and do not adequately reflect intellectual content. Many maps are issued in series with only the series statement available to the user. Information about individual maps may not be easily found.
The most often used maps are from the U.S.G.S. topographicquadrangle series. These account for perhaps 40 percent of all academic library map use. These maps are now available in a digital format on CD-ROM that allow easy use, including printing.
Map Link is the largest map distributor in the U.S. and has a role similar to Baker and Taylor in wholesaling maps. It stocks more than 100,000 titles.
As GIS data bases and map making software become more widely available in libraries, information professionals need to be able to help users create individualized maps. This service may be costly in terms of technology support and the need for detailed hand-holding. Some research libraries, North Carolina State for example, have a spatial and numeric data services librarian as well as a GIS team to provide GIS services to the campus community.
Libraries contain many hidden maps. Useful maps are found in books, periodicals (including newspapers), and vertical file materials. There are also many hidden (difficult to find) maps on the web.
Library classification schemes can be a problem. Maps may not be classed and cataloged, particularly when there are a large number of sheet maps in a set and only the set is cataloged. Classification schemes may not match the terms which users expect and encounter in the research literature.
Geographical material is often scattered under class numbers for other social science disciplines. For example, the Journal of Economic Geography is found in the HFs. Much geographical material is found in the the Ds.
Place names are also a problem. There is a substantial difference between the names used by library catalogs and those used by information seekers and found in the serial literature. For example, they use "Powder River Basin", we use "Powder River Watershed." Names change with political events and intellectual access may lag behind. There is a substantial need for more SEE and SEE ALSO references. Note the importance of The Board on Geographic Names in making decisions about the proper geographic names in the United States.
There are few recent studies of information seeking behavior for geographers. Those studies are limited to research libraries and a scholarly or student audience. A recent study may interest: Robinson and Poston, "Literature Use by Geography Scholars," Behaviorial & Social Science Librarian.
Indexing and abstracting services appear to be under used.
Data archives are important and popular. There is interest in remote sensing data, including images. Census data that can be manipulated geographically is heavily used. Statistical data from a wide variety of government and non-government sources that is geographically referenced is popular.
For retrospective literature searching, GEOBASE is the major resource. It includes Geographical Abstracts: Physical Geography, Geographical Abstracts: Human Geography, Geological Abstracts, Ecological Abstracts, International Development Abstracts, Geomechanics Abstracts, and Oceanographic Literature Review. GEOBASE began in 1980- and contains about 50,000 records per year. More than 3,000 periodicals are reviewed and abstracted. Abstracts are also included for books, reports, proceedings, maps, and theses. English language abstracts are included for all entries. GEOBASE is Dialog file 292.
Geographical Abstracts: Human Geography appears monthly and costs about $1200 per year. It covers planning, social, and economic geography. There are about 11,000 abstracts in a typical year and 1100 core periodicals are reviewed. Books, theses, proceedings, and monographs are also covered. The abstract for each entry includes a title translation and abstract for non-English papers. There is a monthly subject and regional index as well as an annual cumulation.
Geographical Abstracts: Physical Geography covers earth studies, landforms, quaternary, sedimentology, soils, hydrology, meteorology and climatology, remote sensing, mapping, and GIS. There are about 16,000 entries/year from 1000 periodicals. Other attributes are as above.
Current Geographical Publications began in 1938 by American Geographical Society is another standard resource for retrospective searching. It is issued 10 times per year in four sections--topical, regional, maps, and selected books and monographs. The regional section is arranged by an AGS classification scheme. There is an author index. Today, this work is based on new items added to the Research Catalog of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee American Geographical Society Collection. Current Geographical Publications includes books, periodical articles, pamphlets, government publications, maps and atlases. There are only brief title entries (no abstracts or annotations).
For selection of atlases, especially foreign and specialized ones, the reviews in Cartographica are essential.
Increasingly, academic libraries need to provide support for digital mapping as researchers and students in a variety of fields find themselves using and creating spatial data. This is a new role for many libraries and quite different from merely housing maps and atlases. The most common name for this activity is Spatial Data Services. This includes GIS services, consulting and instructional services in creating digital geographic data and maps. Creating and staffing such a unit is a challenge in most libraries because few librarians are familiar with geography, cartography, and the digital resources.
Teachers are often interested in current events that illustrate geographic principles and facts. Especially at the college and K12 level, they are interested in innovative ways to teach geography and make it more interesting for their students. Teachers and students need reproducible maps. that are easy to use, reasonably detailed and clear enough to work well for class room assignments. Houghton Mifflin's Outline Maps is an example of a website that provides this service. Video material and imaginative web sites are popular. Inexpensive digital atlases also appeal.
Elementary and middle school teachers are often interested in geography series books because they are useful for state and country reports. While the WWW may become a reasonable alternative, the series books are likely to remain popular. Unhappily, series often date quickly and are expensive when all or most of the series is purchased. Thoughtful weeding is needed. While the series books are usually colorful, image-filled, and attractive to younger readers, they often provide little genuine understanding of a place or the people who live there. Look for:
Students are mostly interested in material needed to answer class room assignments. Often, you will be asked to help find a map of a particular place or help to find where a place is located. How to read and understand maps is also frequently a concern. There is an emphasis on atlases, hard copy and digital, and interesting, easy to use, heavily illustrated geographic fact books. For quick geographic facts and data, the CIA World Factbook and the Information Please Almanac work well. High school students in more affluent communities and some college students will want travel books for students who travel abroad and information on study abroad opportunities. Note that the standard series travel books can [Frommer's for example] answer many school assignment questions about customs, dress, food, geography, and history.
Older atlases should be retained since they may have place names of cities and towns that no longer exist or have changed their name. Eastern Europe is a good example of this. Older atlases that circulate may also be most useful for those investigating family history.
Some business people will be interested in learning more about GIS and mapping software and how it can be used in a small business. Location information for site selection and marketing may also be popular. Census information for local places, regions, and states is essential.
Business travel involves more Americans so there should be some interest in such specialized travel guides as the International Herald Tribune Guide to Business Travel Europe. Phrase books and other pocket size references are more likely to be purchased, but people may wish to examine them in the library. The recent economic down-turn and terrorism abroad have substantially reduced business travel. Digital conferencing has also become a more reliable alternative.
While single business people are an important segment, there are many others such as the business traveler with spouse, the weekend traveler, the young, hip traveler, the once-in-a-lifetime traveler and so on.
The most common map reference questions involve driving directions. Today, most would use a website to answer this question and librarians will have a favorite website. Mapquest is probably the best known, but there are others including GoogleMaps and Mapblast. Street Atlas USA by Delorme is a popular CD product that is inexpensive and easily used.
Atlases of various types remain popular, especially the more expensive atlases not likely to be found in the home. The New International Atlas by Rand McNally, the Book of the World by Macmillan, and the Times Atlas of the World Comprehensive Edition are probably the best hard copy world atlases available. The National Geographic Atlas of the World is also well regarded. Goode's World Atlas and Oxford's Atlas of the World are good choices for school libraries. Supplement the atlases with the Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary and a gazetteer of your choice.
Digital collections of geographic information will be increasingly popular. Printing can be a problem in many libraries, but the ability to individualize or customize maps to meet particular needs is appealing. For example, Topo USA by DeLorme provides current topographic maps for the U.S., including 3-D views of the terrain. Maps may be personalized with photos, web links, and field notes. The package costs less than $75.00. Compare with the cost of a complete collection of hard copy topo maps.
Travel books remain the heart of any popular geography collection. With growing affluence, more Americans are traveling and to exotic locations. At the moment, global terrorism has made destinations that are safe, and accessible much more popular. Eco-tourism and "soft" adventure are trends of note. Domestic and Canadian travel has also increased. Economic travail encourages shorter trips.
Here are questions to help respond to travel information questions [remember that some library users will be armchair travelers]:
The guidebook is the backbone of the travel collection. Beginning with Murray in 1836 and Baedeker in 1839, travel guides have had considerable impact on travel and travelers. Today, major brands, including the Penguin DK Eyewitness series, dominate most travel collections. Each brand has a wide range of books. For example, Lonely Planet has more than 600 books on its list and Frommer's had about 200 titles on its front list. A few brands are most popular and dominate the market:
The most popular topics are accommodations, culture/attractions, and dining. Typically, guidebooks include history, landscape, arts, politics, where to stay, how much to pay, what to eat, how to get there, maps.... Ease of use, durability, colorful graphics and illustrations are important. Ratings are the most popular guide feature. Note the difference between books useful for travel planning and those actually carried on the trip. A considerable amount of travel guide circulation is due to the arm chair traveler who prefers a larger format and lots of color images. Trip planning should be fun and not student-like research. Guides should be easily used and colorful. Over the years, guides have become more narrowly focused so that there are regional guides, country guides, state or province guides, city guides, and even parkway guides.
Travel guides, especially those with more of a historical and cultural emphasis, are often useful for student country reports.
Publishers continue to add major series [Fodor's has at least 16 major ones and Frommer's has more] and few libraries can keep up. Guides may be categorized into general, culture and history oriented, off the track locations, and guides for short trips. Niche guides are popular and more publishers are issuing them [Vegetarian Walt Disney World and Hidden Spring's "Spiritual Traveler" series are a good examples]. While series make selection easier, they create problems when users expect to find all volumes in a series with new volumes each year. Too, series are becoming increasingly specialized such as "The Used Book Lover's Guides." Still, the guide collection begins with a focus on the most common travel destinations for those in your community. One of the guide problems in the last few years has been the proliferation of more guides for niche tastes -- far too many for even the large, well funded public library to keep up. Walking the Via de lat Plata from the Pili Pala Press is a good example. At the same time, increased consumer interest in more visual content in color has increased guide book costs.
Guides are always somewhat subjective and travelers (and information professionals) will have strong preferences (brand name awareness is important). There is a growing interest in more specialized guides such as works on smaller areas or cities or topics such as Catholic Shrines of Western Europe or the vegetarian traveler. There is more interest today in culture, custom, and how people live. Adventure travel for the active, energetic traveler is another topic of increasing interest.
While not likely to replace the hard copy travel guide, digital products like the AAA Map'nGo issued by DeLorme have already found a place in many public and some academic libraries. Quite reasonably priced, this CD provides all the information needed for trip planning, including restaurants, attractions, places to stay, and the best routes.
At the same time, most major guidebook publishers also have complementary websites and these should be highly visible and linked from the hard copy guides. Fodor's website is a good example.
The reference desk should certainly include at least one U.S. road atlas as well as the DeLorme atlases for your state and surrounding ones. Rand McNally, AAA, and National Geographic issue well regarded road atlases and all but the smallest library should have the current edition of all three. The AAA atlas includes more place names and is especially good for locating smaller communities.
The collection developer faces enormous problems since there are so many good travel books and they date so quickly. The annual books are usually dated when they are issued. Fodor has begun to issue one guide on a six month schedule, but that would also double the cost to the library. Historical, cultural, and geographic information tends to remain useful. Guidebooks with practical information--e.g. accommodations--need to be replaced quickly. Today, most guide publishers provide updates via their www pages. Libraries cannot afford to update the standard series each year and must adopt a reasonable replacement cycle. At the same time, many attractive new specialized guides are being issued such as the "Garden Lover's Guides" to Britain, France and Germany. Many useful travel items are published by regional and local publishers that may be overlooked.
A few people will want current information on places in the news. Maps of historical places will interest those who enjoy reading historical works or fiction set in a real place. Travelers without web access will often want to know the distance from point A to point B.
The minimal geography reference collection will contain a good national atlas, a good international atlas, and a standard historical atlas, a globe, a geographic dictionary, a world gazetteer, detailed state, local area, and city maps. Gazetteers locate places and geographic features. If affordable, the Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online is a good choice. Topographic maps depict physical and cultural detail and are essential for the area where the collection is located. One sheet covers an area about 6 miles by 8 miles. Topo maps come in different scales, but 1:24,000 is needed for the local area. Recall that scale is "the ratio of distances on a map, globe, etc. to the actual distances that they represent."
The library with a good collection of older atlases faces another problem. Single pages from 19th Century atlases in good condition can sell from $35.00 to a $1,000 each and are candidates for theft and/or page removal.
Lay people increasingly expect to find digital geographic information. There is a wealth of geographical, cartographic, and travel information on the WWW. We need to provide bookmarked collections to the most useful sites and insure that our links work. Some sort of digital atlas was probably bundled with most user's new PC. They have probably visited a travel planning site on the web. Geographic information is much more available to a wider audience. The use and diversity of maps will increase. Users assume that digital products are current and that printed maps are dated. They may expect to find or create customized maps at their local information agency. Libraries may subscribe to geographic data bases instead of buying maps and atlases.
For those without home access to the Internet, the direction sites will be of particular interest. MapQuest, Freetrip, and MapBlast! are good examples of this useful category.
Preservation becomes an important concern as fewer maps and atlases are issued and more maps are created on demand. Who will have the data to allow the map reflecting 1994 data to be created?
Do web travel sites minimize the need for a hard copy travel collection in the library?
Should the library provide the information technology and assistance to help users to create customized maps?
If you were the collection developer in a public library with a difficult budget, how would you handle the purchase and weeding of the name series travel guide books, especially with all of the new series?
List the audiences for geographic/travel information in a medium sized public library (as an alternative, select a school library media center), and provide examples of the type of information they would want or need.
