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Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche,
Groupe des Cartothécaires de LIBER
TRANSLATE ENGLISH to Français, Deutsch, Italiano, Português, Español! Explanation
© LIBER and the author
Introduction
The demonstration below is of the Cartographic Materials file currently mounted on the
British Library's BLAISE on-line system. The file represents the culmination of a four-year
project to convert the post-1974 accessions of the British Library Map Library to
machine-readable form. The file currently contains some 12,000 bibliographic records,
representing single sheet maps, map series, atlases, globes and monograph materials relating
to the subject of cartography. The bulk of the records represent acquisitions by the Map
Library; however, some have been added by other map-holding departments as part of an effort
to create a truly comprehensive union catalogue of all cartographic materials in the British
Library.
The development of the system
The file is mounted on the Blaise on-line system. Blaise was launched in 1978 by the British
Library Bibliographic Services Division as the premier U.K host for on-line bibliographic
databases. The first group of files made available included the British National
Bibliography from 1950, and the Library of Congress catalogue, with records dating from
1968. Since then, a wide variety of files have been added, most of which reflect the
internal cataloguing and record creation activities of the Library. Others have been
acquired from outside to support cataloguing activities of subscribers to Blaise.
In view of the position of the Map Library in the corporate structure of the British
Library, and the central role of Blaise as the Library's automated system, there was no
viable alternative. The advantage of this was that Blaise was a tried and tested on-line
retrieval system which also offered a wide variety of other outputs, including fiche and
paper catalogues. Moreover, Blaise was properly documented and fully supported with
programming, telecommunications and systems personnel.
The primary disadvantage was that the UKMARC (MARC = MAchine-Readable Catalogue)
record
structure around which Blaise is built was only partially suitable for map records. The
UKMARC format has been in existence since 1968 as the standard to which the majority of
bibliographic records in the United Kingdom are currently created. The chief limitation of
UKMARC when applied to maps is its inability to effectively handle individual maps within
map series. This did not represent a major disadvantage, as the Map Library has always
created series-level records for map series.
Access to the system
The British Library does not operate its own mainframe system for servicing its
bibliographic and cataloguing activities. Instead, Blaise is mounted at a computer bureau
which operates the service on the Library's behalf. The system is available to external
subscribers from Monday to Friday, 08.00 to 19.00 UK time. Access within the United Kingdom
is via British Telecom's Packet Switching Service (PSS). From outside the UK, access is
through the packet switching service of the appropriate national PTT. For more information,
contact: NBS Blaise Information Services, British Library, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23
7BQ.
Searching the Cartographic Materials file.
All catalogue records added to Blaise are inverted, i.e. the computer compiles from them a
list of index terms which can then be used for searching. In the case of Cartographic
Materials, searchable fields include: author; individual words from the title; geographic
headings and area codes; place of publication; names of publishers; scales; and dates. It is
possible to search
these latter fields by specifying a range.
When searching Blaise, the user enters into a dialogue with the computer. The searcher
issues commands and types in the search terms he is looking for. In reply, the computer
responds with lists of the retrieved records or messages giving information.
Sample search
In the search below, dialogue entered by the searcher is underlined. Explanatory comments
are in square brackets:-
BL TIME 15:11:04 DATE 24 SEP 91 LINE BL1LU4 PROG:Future developments
HELLO FROM BLAISE-LINE
YOU ARE NOW CONNECTED TO THE BNBCMARC FILE.
[the searcher receives this message when connecting to Blaise at the start of a search session.]
SEARCH 1?
USER:
file maps
[at this point, the searcher changes files to the "maps" or "Cartographic Materials" file by issuing the "file" command]. PROG:
YOU ARE NOW CONNECTED TO THE CARTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS FILE. SEARCH 1?
USER:
(au)willdey g
[The searcher is prompted by the system to enter his first search, "SEARCH 1?" He wants to retrieve records for works by George Willdey. He does this by entering the surname, followed by a space, followed by the initials of the Christian name. The "au" code supplied by the searcher informs the computer that the personal name fields should be searched]. PROG:
SEARCH 1 FOUND 6 ITEM(S).
[Blaise replies that it has retrieved six records matching the criteria, and has stored them on his behalf as "search 1". The searcher can now either enter another search term or ask the system to execute a command upon the results of search 1]. SEARCH 2?
USER:
prt
[the searcher asks Blaise to print or "prt" some of the records].
PROG: 1
RCN - mlc0053988
MA - M.T.11.h.2.(17.)
AP - Price Charles
TG - A new and correct map of the world projected upon the plane of the horizontal laid down from the newest discoveries and most exact observations by C. Price H. Terasson, delin. et sculp. London MT - Scale [ca. 1:40 000 000] at the equator
PU - [London] Printed by T. Jefferys at the corner of St Martins Lane Charing Cross, and by W[illia]m Herbert at the Golden Globe on London Bridge [ca. 1750]
MH - World Maps and charts 1711 1750 2
RCN - mlr0032409
MA - Maps C.29.c.3.
AP - Lea Philip
TG - The Shires of England and Wales Described by Christopher Saxton. Being the Best and Original Mapps With many Additions and Corrections ... by Philip Lea
PU - London Sold by Geo: Willdey at the Great Toy, Spectacle, China-ware, and Print Shop, the Corner of Ludgate Street near St Pauls [ca 1730]
MH - England Atlases 1579 1730
MH - Wales Atlases 1579 1730 CONTINUE PRINTING? (YES/NO)
USER:
n
[after printing two records, Blaise asks the user to confirm that he wishes to continue printing. For the sake of brevity, the searcher replies "n" - "no"]. PROG: SEARCH 2?
USER:
(ns)saxton c
[In this case, the searcher wishes to retrieve books about Christopher Saxton, not by him. Hence, the qualifier "ns" (name as subject) is used]. PROG:
SEARCH 2 FOUND 4 ITEM(S). SEARCH 3?
USER:
prt PROG: 1
RCN - 0904654443
MA - Maps Ref.A.5.
AP - Tyacke Sarah
TI - Christopher Saxton and Tudor map making by Sarah Tyacke and John Huddy
PU - London British Library Reference Division June 1980
MH - Great Britain Appendix 1980 2
RCN - 0901869066
CI - 090047095x v
MA - Maps Ref.G.2a
MA - Maps 203.g.3.
AP - Evans Ifor M.
TI - Christopher Saxton, Elizabethan map maker by Ifor M. Evans and Heather Lawrence
PU - Wakefield Wakefield Historical Publications London Holland Pr 1979
MH - England Appendix 1979 CP - [Another copy]
CONTINUE PRINTING? (YES/NO) USER:
y
[at this point, the searcher wishes to continue printing and so says "y" or "yes"]. PROG: 3 RCN - mlr0024155
MA - Maps 61.cc.4.
AP - Lawrence Heather
TI - Exhibition of the work of Christopher Saxton, Elizabethan map-maker, at the Minster Library, Dean:s Park, York, November and December 1979 organised in association with Wakefield Historical Society to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the publication of Saxton:s Atlas of England and Wales [catalogue written by Heather Lawrence]
PU - Wakefield Wakefield Historical Publications 1979
MH - England Appendix 1979
MH - Wales Appendix 1979 4
RCN - mlr0009148
MA - Maps 196.d.15. AP - Skelton Raleigh Ashlin TI - Saxton:s survey of England and Wales with a facsimile of Saxton:s wall map of 1583 R. A. Skelton [editor:s preface by J. B. Harley] PU - Amsterdam Nico Israel 1974 MH - England Maps 1583 MH - Wales Maps 1583 SEARCH 3?
USER:
(au)wawrik f
(The Cartographic Materials file also contains works by contemporary authors on the subject of cartography). PROG: SEARCH 3 FOUND 5 ITEM(S). SEARCH 4?
USER:
prt PROG: 1
RCN - 3201014761
MA - Maps 213.a.31.
AP - Wawrik Franz
TI - Austria Picta :Osterreich auf alten Karten und Ansichten Ausstellung der Kartensammlung der :Osterreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Prunksaal 11 Mai bis 8 Oktober 1989 Handbuch und Katalog herausgegeben von Franz Wawrik und Elizabeth Zeilinger
PU - Graz Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt 1989
MH - Austria Empire Appendix 1989 MH - Austria Republic Appendix 1989 2
RCN - 349600939x
MA - Maps 212.c.37.
AP - Scharfe Wolfgang
TI - Kartographiehistorisches colloquium Wien :86 Vortr:age und berichte herausgegeben von Wolfgang Scharfe, Ingrid Kretschmer und Franz Wawrik
PU - Berlin Dietrich Reimer Verlag 1987
CONTINUE PRINTING? (YES/NO) USER:
n PROG: SEARCH 4?
USER:
(tw)france and oak
[In this case, the searcher is looking for a specific map. He retrieves it by entering two known words from the title linked by the word "and". Blaise will only retrieve records with both words in the title]. PROG:
SEARCH 4 FOUND 1 ITEM(S). SEARCH 5?
USER:
prt fu
[The searcher wishes to see the "full" or "fu" record, i.e. the basic bibliographic description plus notes fields. The searcher could also examine the entire record complete with MARC tags and subfields by entering the command "prt marc"].
PROG: 1
RCN - mlc0001406
SC - a 2600000
MA - Maps CC.2.f.4.
DAC - 44
TG - The Kingdom of France being one of the most antient in Europe is represented as an Oak whose branches extend towards those countries where the present anarchists have endeavourd to fix their infamous principles
MT - Scale [ca.1:2 600 000] :Leagues of 2280 Toises 25 to a Degree:
PU - [London?] the Author [1796?]
PH - 1 map hand col. 44x44cm, on sheet 53x97cm
N01 - With printed chronology of Revolutionary events down either side, the latest date being 5 November 1795
N03 - A Companion to the map of France in the form of a ship, whose date (28 June 1796) and author:s address (No.49 Great Portland Street) can be discerned in the erased portions of this imprint
MH - France Symbolic cartography maps 1796 SEARCH 5?
USER: (gh)london
[The searcher wishes to retrieve all maps etc relating to London, and so enters "London" qualified by "gh" - the code for geographic headings]. PROG:
SEARCH 5 FOUND 322 ITEM(S). SEARCH 6?
USER:
5 and from 12000 to 25000(sc)
[The searcher can combine search sets by quoting their numbers. In this case, he wishes to locate all maps of London with scales of between 1:12,000 and 1:25,000]. PROG:
SEARCH 6 FOUND 84 ITEM(S). SEARCH 7?
USER:
prt ti,sc,pu,mh
[Blaise searchers can specify themselves how the records appear on the screen by following the "prt" command with the names of only those fields required]. PROG: 1
TI - London streetfinder
SC - a 13500 20000
PU - London Nicholson 1991
MH - London Atlases 1971 1991 2
TI - Handy map of London
SC - a 15500
PU - Edinburgh Bartholomew 1988
MH - London Maps 1986 1988 3
TI - Master atlas of Greater London
SC - a 19000
PU - London Geographers: A-Z Map Company 1990
MH - London Atlases 1988 1990 4
TI - 40 miles around London
SC - a 25000
PU - London Geographia 1988
MH - London environs Roads maps 1988
CONTINUE PRINTING? (YES/NO) USER:
n PROG: SEARCH 7?
USER:
(cy)ne
[In this case the searcher is looking for maps of a certain Country of Origin, qualifier "cy". The code for Netherlands is "ne"]. PROG:
SEARCH 7 FOUND 232 ITEM(S). SEARCH 8?
USER:
7 and from 1500 to 1700(yr)
[The searcher refines his previous search retrieving the 232 items published in the Netherlands with a further search asking only for those works published between 1500 and 1700. By means of combining different search statements, highly sophisticated searches can be built up]. PROG:
SEARCH 8 FOUND 32 ITEM(S). SEARCH 9?
USER:
prt PROG: 1
RCN - mlc0053953
MA - Maps CC.5.a.43.
MA - Harl.5935
AP - Carr Richard
TG - Descriptio viarum Angliae per postam: Londino Edenburgum in Scotiam ... manifestata & edita per R. Carr Description de touts le chemins de poste qui sont en Engletere, de Londres jusques :a Edenburg en la Ecoce ... edidie & sign:e par R. Carr. A description of al the postroads in England, from London to Edenborough in Scotland ... drawn and perfected by R. Carr. Beschryvinge van alle de Post-wegen die in Englandt zijn, van Londen tot Edenburgh in Schotland ... in:t light gebracht en geteyckent door R. Carr C. Landts Exc. MT - Scale [ca. 1: 2 500 000] Schalae ... Engles miles, 60 [=52mm]
PU - [Amsterdam?] [s.n.] 1668
MH - England Roads maps 1668
MH - Wales Roads maps 1668
CP - [Another copy]. Bagford Collection
CONTINUE PRINTING? (YES/NO) USER:
n PROG: SEARCH 9?
USER:
prt pu
[To prove the point, we can print out the imprint field, "pu", containing the place, publisher and date]. PROG: 1
PU - [Amsterdam?] [s.n.] 1668 2
PU - [Brussels?] [s.n.] 1647 3
PU - Tot Amsterdam Ghedruckt bij Jan Janssoon, wonende op:t water, inde Pas-kaert Anno 1632 4
PU - A Amsterdam Chez Gerard Valck, sur le Dam [ca 1700] 5
PU - [Amsterdam] [s.n.] 1608 6
PU - Amstelodami Sumptibus apud P. Schenk et G. Valk [ca 1694] 7
PU - [Amsterdam] [s.n.] [ca. 1641] 8
PU - Amstelodami Sumptibus & typis aeneis Ioannis Ianssonii 1633 9
PU - [Amsterdam] [Abraham Ortelius] [1579] 10
PU - Amstelodami Ex Officina et Sumptibus Judoci Hondij A[nn]o Domini 1617
CONTINUE PRINTING? (YES/NO) USER:
n PROG:
SEARCH 9?
USER:
(dac)44
[Dewey Decimal Classification codes from "areas" table 2 are assigned to each record. This can be used to retrieve entire geographical hierarchies of records. Code 44 will retrieve all records for France]. PROG: PROG: SEARCH 9 FOUND 200 ITEM(S). SEARCH 10?
USER:
prt br
[Print br, or "browse", gives the title followed by the Map Library geographic headings and the Dewey area code]. PROG: *1
TI - Collins road atlas France
MH - France Roads atlases 1987 1991
MH - Belgium Roads atlases 1987 1991
MH - Luxembourg Roads atlases 1987 1991
DAC - 44 *2
TI - [Hydrographic charts for French waters and the world] Service hydrographique et oc:eanographique de la marine
MH - World Maps and charts (collections) 1985-
MH - France coasts Charts (Collections) 1985-
DAC - 0
DAC - 44 *3
TI - RAC motoring atlas France, Belgium, Luxembourg RAC atlas routier France, Belgique, Luxembourg
MH - France Roads atlases 1990
MH - Belgium Roads atlases 1990
MH - Luxembourg Roads atlases 1990
DAC - 44
DAC - 493
DAC - 4934 CONTINUE PRINTING? (YES/NO) USER:
n PROG: SEARCH 10?
USER:
(dac)44:
[By means of the colon : symbol we can ask for all Dewey area codes beginning 44, thus giving us all records for France and all its component parts]. PROG: TERM (44:) APPEARS IN (36) CONTEXTS
SEARCH 10 FOUND 283 ITEM(S).
SEARCH 11?
USER:
10 and not 9
[To illustrate the point, we can exclude all the maps of the whole of France coded 44 from the maps of the component parts of France. Note the use of the logical operator "and not"]. PROG:
SEARCH 11 FOUND 83 ITEM(S). SEARCH 12?
USER:
prt br PROG: *1
TI - Image de la Corse 120 cartes de la Corse des origines :a 1831 Franck Cervoni
MH - Corsica Appendix 1989
DAC - 44945 *2
TI - Kriegsgeologische Karte von Nord-Frankreich
MH - France Geology maps 1918
DAC - 443 *3
TI - Les cartes anciennes de la Franche-Comt:e :Etude historique & descriptive F. Roland
PA - [Les cartes du Comt:e de Bourgogne au XVIe si:ecle] Premi:ere partie
MH - Franche-Comt:e Appendix 1913
DAC - 4445
*4
TI - Paris cartes des r:eseaux ferr:es railway maps
MH - Paris city Railways maps 1982 1987
DAC - 44361
CONTINUE PRINTING? (YES/NO) USER:
n PROG: SEARCH 12?
USER:
(dac)5: and economics(gw)
[The truncation facility can of course be combined with other search terms. Here, all economic maps and atlases of Asia and its constituent states are retrieved]. PROG:
TERM (5:) APPEARS IN (153) CONTEXTS SEARCH 12 FOUND 8 ITEM(S). SEARCH 13?
USER:
prt PROG: 1
RCN - mlc0660656
MA - Maps 60.b.122.
AP - Korop Pyotor
TI - USSR looking at an economic map Pyotor Korop design by Sergei Petrov
PU - [Moscow] Novosti Press 1985
MH - Russia Economics Appendix 1985 2
RCN - 0195620410
MA - Maps 62.d.30.
TI - A social and economic atlas of India [editor-in-chief] S. Muthiah
MT - Scales differ
PU - Delhi Oxford University Press 1987
MH - India Sociology atlases 1987
MH - India Economics atlases 1987 3
RCN - mlr003097x
MA - 63710.(9.)
AC - Graham & Trotman
TI - Business map of the Arab world and Iran
MT - Scale [ca.1:9 000 000]
PU - London Graham & Trotman 1977
MH - Asia Economics maps 1977
MH - Iran Economics maps 1977 CONTINUE PRINTING? (YES/NO) USER:
y PROG: 4
RCN - mlr0008710
MA - Maps Ref.K.5.
AP - Hsieh Chiao-Min
TI - Atlas of China Chiao-min Hsieh edited by Christopher L. Salter
PU - [New York] McGraw-Hill Book Company 1973
MH - China atlases 1973
MH - China Economics atlases 1973
MH - China History atlases 1973 5
RCN - mlr0007358
MA - Maps 196.b.28.
AC - Madhya Pradesh, India Directorate of Economics and Statistics
TI - Economical & statistical atlas of Madhya Pradesh
PU - Bhopal Directorate of Economics & Statistics 1958
MH - Madhya Pradesh Economics atlases 1958 MH - Madhya Pradesh Statistics atlases 1958 6
RCN - mlr0001023
MA - Maps 57.b.35.
AC - Ceylon Department of Census and Statistics
TI - The Ceylon economic atlas
PU - Colombo, Ceylon Department of Census and Statistics 1969
MH - Ceylon Economics atlases 1969
CONTINUE PRINTING? (YES/NO) USER:
n PROG: SEARCH 13?
USER:
maps204e10
[In addition to the search features illustrated above, a wide range of other criteria can be used to retrieve records, including material type, language, and shelfmark, as in this example]. PROG:
SEARCH 13 FOUND 1 ITEM(S). SEARCH 14?
USER:
prt PROG: 1
RCN - mlr0010596
MA - Maps 204.e.10.
AP - Simoni-Aurembou Marie-Rose
TI - Atlas linguistique et ethnographique de l:Ille-de-France et de l:Orl:eanais (Ile-de-France, Orl:eanais, Perche, Touraine) par Marie-Rose Simoni-Aurembou
PU - Paris Centre national de la recherche scientifique 1973-
MH - Isle de France Linguistics atlases 1973-
MH - Orl:eanais Linguistics atlases 1973- SEARCH 14?
USER:
stop y
(To terminate the search session, the phrase "stop y" is entered. The computer then logs the searcher out and displays administrative data such as time connected, files searched and records printed). PROG:
**** Session summary for userid XXXX, 24th Sep 91.
Session started at 15:04:39. File Connect ---Online Prints--- Estimated
Time/Hrs MARC Browse Other Cost BNBC 0.0016 0 0 0 0.01 MAPS 0.1052 0 0 18 8.43 BNBC 0.0016 0 0 0 0.01 MAPS 0.1408 0 7 42 18.62 Session ended at 15:19:37.
*************************************************
Total session time: 00:14:58 = 0.2494 hours. GOOD-BYE!
As stated earlier, the file currently contains only those accessions from 1974 onwards. Records for accessions before this date, including the great bulk of the antiquarian materials, are recorded in the fifteen-volume Catalogue of printed maps, charts and plans in the British Museum to 1964, photolithographed edition, 1967, together with the ten-year supplement of 1965-1974 accessions. This is now the subject of a project to convert all the data therein to machine-readable form, and to amalgamate the already-computerised post-1974 records with them. When completed, and when augmented with details of the manuscript and non-Map Library maps, an automated union database will have been created which will be invaluable to all scholars of cartography ancient and modern.