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Frontiers of access to cartographic materials within a repository library (slightly altered in 2004)

Jan Smits

© LIBER and author
Published from: Bulletin Ligue des Bibliothèques Europeénnes de Recherche, 28(1986)
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Historical background
Although the idea of legal repository is widespread throughout the world, The Netherlands -a country with a long and important history of printing and publishing- has been one of the last to adopt this concept. The obligation of copyright deposit was not finally confirmed until a law was introduced in the early 20th century, but abandoned in 1917. At one time it seemed that a legal repository might be created, but this idea was interrupted by the Second World War. In the early 1970s revived official support was given to the idea, resulting in the establishment of the "Studiecommissie Wettelijk Depot" (Study-Committee for a Legal Repository) which reported twice to the Secretary for Education and Science. As a result, a repository was established within the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Royal Library) on January 1st 1974, where publications from The Netherlands (and for some classes from Belgian Flanders, being an extra-national Dutch-speaking area) were to be deposited voluntarily by publishers. At the same time a working agreement with Brinkman's Cumulatieve Catalogus (a bookseller's bibliography, established in 1839) came into effect, resulting in the fact that since 1982 it has become the principal component of the Dutch National Bibliography; currently it contains descriptions of some 25,000 new book titles yearly. [For further reading on the history of Dutch national bibliography read The Dutch (carto)bibliographic school / Jan Smits]

There were new developments in the field of cartography also. On the initiative of prof. C. Koeman the "Nederlandse Stichting Informatie- en Documentatiecentrum voor de Kartografie" (NSIDK, Dutch Foundation Information and Documentation Centre for Cartography) was founded on March 1st 1970. The aims of the foundation were the collection and dissemination of cartographic information, and the promotion of research into, amongst other things, the automation of map catalogues and the use of cartographic materials. One of the means to achieve these aims was to be a Dutch Union Map Catalogue (DUMC). From the start the deputy librarian of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek has been a member of the board of the foundation.

In 1975 these developments resulted in the foundation of a new department of the repository library, namely the Office for Maps. At the end of 1983 the Office for Maps was transferred from Utrecht University to the new premises of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, where it now occupies ample office and storage space.

The functions of the Office for Maps
Because the Office for Maps is part of the "Depot van Nederlandse Publikaties & Nederlandse Bibliografie" (Repository for Dutch Publications & Dutch Bibliography) its first task is to collect cartographic materials (CM) published in The Netherlands. As part of the National Bibliographic Centre its second task is making its collection accessible by describing the items contained in it. This results in the annual publication of the Bibliografie van in Nederland verschenen kaarten (Bibliography of maps published in The Netherlands) by the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in co-operation with the NSIDK. The third task is to make accessible 'published'cartographic materials, not only in the cartographic collection, but also in the book and serial collections.

Developments in automation of carto-catalogues
The bibliography is produced in close co-operation with the DUMC office of the NSIDK. The DUMC started to work with the MARC-maps format of the Library of Congress. In 1975, after certain adaptations had been made, the software was ready and as a result the Bibliography of maps published in The Netherlands first was published two years later. At the same time IFLA was developing its 'International Standard Bibliographic Description'(ISBD), and in 1977 the first edition of the ISBD(CM) was produced. Also the UBC office of IFLA published the second edition of the 'Universal MARC format'(Unimarc), with its expanded provisions for cartographic materials. These developments meant that the DUMC had to start again almost from scratch, but in 1982 the DUMC produced the first bibliographies based on ISBD and Unimarc.

In 1984 the DUMC became an operational on-line system. For several reasons it was decided to incorporate the DUMC system into the existing configuration of the PICA system (Project for Integrated catalogue Automation, a joint-venture of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and the Dutch university libraries), which at the moment is in the process of implementation. All problems have not been solved yet, so we shall have to wait and see how the DUMC can best work within PICA. The evaluation being carried out for the Ministry of Education and Science concerning the proposed integration will take place this autumn.

Basic knowledge
One would expect a map curator to have some knowledge of cartography, especially of the techniques with which CM are produced, and of mathematical data such as projection, scale and coordinates. [See: Mathematical data for bibliographic description of cartographic materials and spatial data / Jan Smits]. For those who lack knowledge in this field the serial Basic cartography for students and technicians, published by the International Cartographic Association (ICA), may fill the gap. Knowledge of the field of documentation and cataloguing is also called for. Fortunately we have the ISBD-framework, which now makes international and communication much easier. Morover there is de widely-used framework of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, second edition (AACR2) which -although developed for the English speaking world- contains much of use to other countries as well. This was augmented in 1982 when Cartographic materials: a manual of interpretation for AACR2 was published, which expanded the rules for the description of CM.

During the 1983 autumn study day of the Working Group for Map Curators of the Dutch Cartographic Society, prof. Braches, Librarian of the University of Amsterdam, tried to warn map curators that they should communicate with conservators to avoid being overawed by their technical expertise. Unfortunately for the map curator, in this technological age his knowledge has to be even more diverse than it already is. What is true for conservation is equally valid for automation. As far as the map curator is concerned he or she does not need much knowledge of programming and software but must rather know how to express the precise specifications needed to build the requested catalogues, lists, and so on. Of course, the problem lies with the transfer of knowledge of the map catalogue and its peculiarities to those who manage the automation processes, because few of the latter will have the basic knowledge of the structures of map catalogues. The nature of the difficulties will depend on whether one has a separate system for CM or whether one is part of a system which processes books, serials, music-sheets, CM, audio-visuals, etc. all together. If possible one should be at the heels of the system analysts, which means constant communication with and checks upon them, especially when automation is implemented by outside organisations.

Varieties of cartographic materials
Before describing the CM we want to make accessible we shall first need to have a closer look at their granularity.

I divide CM into two classes: Those which are published independently from other materials (I) and those which are published dependent from other materials (II). I call those CM independent, which exist on their own account without the support of written texts or other materials, such as plano maps, plans, charts, atlases, globes, etc.; these are typically found in map collections. The second class mainly contains CM found in connection with books and serials as illustrations or as supplement.

I have subdivided class II into the following groups. These groups are not sharply defined, because some items may belong to more than one, but they are outlined here to show a rather structured diversity. This is of course not an exhaustive listing, but it may illustrate the scope of this class.

Process of selection
Both classes I and II items are further divided into two subclasses, topographical and thematical. The items contained in these subclasses comprise two groups: A. monographs, and B. multi-parts. The last group again can be subdivided into: a. uniform, and b. heterogeneous (see fig. 1). Uniform CM depict the same area, are for the greater part constructed with a uniform cartographical technique (i.e. all are anamorphoses or choropleths), and nearly all have the same theme.

Of course, monographs are described as separate items. A difficulty can present itself when one has to work within a multimedia framework with a shared cataloguing system in which an item can only be recorded once and one want to describe a class II monograph, which has already been described as another medium (e.g. an atlas which is described as book material).Because ISBD(M) and ISBD(CM) generally use the same framework and rules it means that, to describe it as a CM, area 3 has to be included in the record and the note area has to be elaborated. I shall return to this question in one of the following paragraphs.

A problem is also present with multi-part items. Do we describe them as a monograph with a series statement, as a single level description, as a monograph with a contents note, or as a multi-level item? Of course, this depends on the type of collection and its specific requirements, and on the automated cataloguing system one is using; also, it always depends on resources and manpower. I myself would be guided by the nature of the knowledge one wishes to impart, the kind of questions our clients may ask, and the most effective way of answering them. For this reason I divide the multi-part CM into uniform and heterogeneous items. However, this does not give a clear-cut solution for the specific collection I work with. Because we are a repository library, our first responsibility is to the material deposited. This means that all multi-part items belonging to class I are described by multi-level records. However, most CM of class II cannot be described because the item is already accounted for by another department. This leaves us with the following class II items:

If it were possible to put uniform items into one record, with elements supplied according to the ISBD-framework, and supplying of the necessary information in a note, I would prefer this solution to a multi-level approach as it is more economical. This leaves the heterogeneous multi-part items of class II. When this group is rather small one still can opt for a non multi-level solution. Records however, have a fixed maximum length so that when a multi-part item contains a large group of CM's one has to opt for a multi-level solution if one does not want to lose a lot of information. However, strict rules are the easiest so I would suggest a multi-level solution in any given circumstance concerning these CM's. Not only will the cartographic content in this way be described better, but there is also more space for coded information and specific entries, which improves the possibilities of retrieval.

Problems of atlases, etc.
When cataloguing, most general libraries do not concern themselves with specific contents of the items described, but more with the form in which it is published. Resulting from this view materials are mainly divided into books, serials, music-sheets, audio-visual material and maybe digital types. CM are only a separate cataloguing entity when there is a separate CM-collection in the parent organisation, and these mainly consist of class I items.

Because of their form atlases are usually catalogued as book-monographs. When one is using a separate system for creating bibliographic records of cartographic materials, one simply describes the item again. If one, however, takes part in a shared cataloguing system (as the one described in the paragraph on 'process of selection') certain problems may arise, such as:
  1. when an item can only be described by one general material designation (GMD); is CM a separate class? And if so, is an atlas then a CM?
  2. when an item can be described with more than one GMD, how can one filter the information required for a specific output?
  3. can an item be described in several levels, and if so can each level have its specific GMD; e.g.
    1. level [monograph]
    2. level [CM]
    and to what extend can this specific information be retrieved for special output?
These problems are even greater for modern thematic atlases as their contents generally cannot be easily described within a note.

Ideally I would opt for the solution implicit in the third question: describing the atlas as a whole with [monograph] as GMD and the maps contained in it as lower level descriptions with [CM] as GMD. For document retrieval, however, it should be possible to select either a specific class of GMD or a hierarchical group of records starting on the lowest level with the GMD desired and retrieving with it as many higher levels as required.

If this solution is not possible in the cataloguing system one is working with and if the atlas is treated as a [monograph], I would enter the atlas for the second time with [CM] as GMD, mainly because of the mathematical data area and the broadness of the notes, on which I will write something in another paragraph.

Depth of record
There is an important difference between CM and other materials such as monographs, serials, audio-visuals, etc. Firstly, they usually have quite a different form. This shows itself mainly in the dimensions and even more in the way they depict information. Contrary to most bibliographic entries, which are mainly written texts, the informational is represented graphically, which presupposes some knowledge of this approach to information by the user. Secondly, the data needed for describing the item does not always refer to its contents, and is not always as precise as one would whish them to be. Thirdly, it is questionable as to whether a cartographical item would be retrieved by its ISBD data or by its contents. For these reasons I would want as much as possible attention to be paid to the ISBD data as to the contents notes.

When using an automated data processing system it is easy to code the contents of a cartographical item. It is important, however, that the cataloguer can recognize the techniques by which the cartographic depiction was produced, and that he has an understanding of technical data. For cataloguing or other bibliographic purposes, this coded information should be given in a verbal statement in order that someone who wants particular information knows, by looking at the description, what he/she can expect when a certain document is asked for. For the verbal description we use the ISBD framework. Of course, in ISBD areas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 data is given as much as possible from the item itself and not from secondary sources unless permanently associated with the item. For those items with no title there is no direct solution, except a local one. This means that there may be an authority which standardizes the titles. When this is not possible one should take care that, in creating a title, it contains a statement of area and a statement of thematic contents. It goes without saying that this information should be placed within square brackets. If possible, area 3 should contain, in addition to a statement of scale, a statement of projection and geographical co-ordinates. Although the statement of co-ordinates is optional in the ISBD framework, it may be very useful in retrieving documents. The data processing system should enable the verbal statement to be translated into the appropriate code (see 'The application of geographical co-ordinates for the retrieval of maps in a computerized map-catalogue', Hans van der Waal; in: International yearbook of cartography XIV, 1974). In area 5 one should give a broad meaning to the term 'Specific Material Designation'(SMD). In my opinion the SMD's should be at least as extensive as those in area 124 of Unimarc. This means that the statement should not be '1 map', but '1 flowline map' or '1 anamorphic map', etc. As stated before, this demands specific cartographical knowledge from those who catalogue

If the contents are not sufficiently described in the areas previously mentioned we are left with area 7 to state the missing data. The notes which are given here can be broadly divided into four groups:
  1. notes that state information concerning the other ISBD areas;
  2. notes that state information concerning the cartographic contents of the item described;
  3. notes that state information concerning other items to which the CM described is linked;
  4. local notes.
Groups 1 and 4 should be treated in the same way as in all other systems for ISBD records, as they contain notes on 'title and statement of responsibility area', etc. or notes on local use. Notes in group 2 are mainly concerned with the informational contents of the item described, and generally say something about the sources of information used to produce it, situation date(s), the area mapped, the cartographic technique used, and so on. These notes can even include a short contents list. They not only make it possible to discriminate between almost identical descriptions (which often happens when such generic terms as 'map' or chart'' , etc. are used), but also give the user a better insight into the information which may be expected. The last group of notes, group 3, links the CM described to other CM or publications or to previous editions. They link CM to CM, if more than one cartographic depiction is present on the document described (mainly insets and auxiliary maps), CM to publications other then those mentioned in area 6 (e.g. supplements), and CM to previous editions. These notes serve among other as an aid to collocation and help in bibliographic tracing. It is our experience that the notes have great value in making the CM's specific and identifiable, because it often happens that the producer of the CM has not given thought to the work of bibliographic agencies. Fortunately this is improving, possibly because of the influence, among others, of mapcurators.

Some advice from experience
Finally, I must emphasize the bibliographic and cartographic knowledge needed by those who have to make CM accessible, which means that well qualified professionals are required. My advice to those institutions which cannot afford staff of such calibre would be to seek the cooperation of other institutions with similar problems and to employ a professional together. When one has to share staff it may seem as if the benefit to the participating institutions will not be great. Let us not be misguided by appearances, though; the prerequisite is that one has an automated data processing system, if possible tailored to the needs of the cartographic collection, and that the cooperating institutions all share this. If so, I think that the throughput of work for one professional cataloguer in a year can be as high as between 2,500 and 5,000 descriptions, depending on the number of map series present. This may be compared with the output of staff in the Office for maps of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, which -in the offline DUMC era, was 1,500 - 1,750 descriptions per employee per year.

References
Anglo-American cataloguing rules / prepared by the American Library Association … [et al.] ; ed. by Michael Gorman & Paul W. Winkler. - 2nd ed. - London ; The Library Association, 1980. - VXII, 620 p. ; 25 cm.
ISBN 0-85365-681-9.

Basic cartography: for students and technicians / International Cartographic Association. - English ed.. - [S.l.] : I.C.A. ; Amsterdam : Rudolf Muller [distr.], [1984-…].
Vol. I. - 1984. - 206 p. : ill. ; 30 cm.

Beschrijvingsregels voor kartografische documenten : met een aanhangsel betreffende de catalogusbouw / Federatie van Organisaties op het gebied van Bibliotheek-, Informatie- en Dokumentatiewezen (FOBID). - Den Haag : Nederlands Bibliotheek en Lektuur Centrum, 1982 . - 116 p. ; 30 cm. - (Regels voor de titelbeschrijving ; 8. ).
Translated and adapted from the English text. - ISBN 90-6252-249-1.

Bibliografie van in Nederland verschenen kaarten / [samengesteld door de] Koninklijke Bibliotheek ; [in samenw. met de] Stichting Informatie- en Documentatiecentrum voor de Kartografie. - 's-Gravenhage : Koninklijke Bibliotheek, - 1977-…
Published annuals for 1975 up to and including 1982.

Cartographic materials : a manual for interpretation for AACR2 / prepared by the Anglo-American Cataloguing Committee for Cartographic Materials. - General ed. - London : The Library Association, 1982. - X, 258 p. ; ill. ; 25 cm.
ISBN 0-85365-855-2 (The Library Association).

ISBD(CM): international standard bibliographic description for cartographic materials / recommendations by the Joint Working Group on the international standard bibliographic description for cartographic materials set up by the IFLA Committee on Cataloguing and the IFLA Sub-section of Geography and Map Libraries. - London : IFLA International Office for UBC, 1977. - X, 58 p. ; 30 cm.
ISBN 0-903043-16-5. - Under revision.

Titelbeschrijven voor kartografische documenten. : verslag zomercursus NVK 1982 / samenst. En red.: J. Smits en G. Staal. - Doorn : Nederlandse Vereniging voor Kartografie, 1983. - 146 p. : ill. ; 30 cm.

Unimarc : universal MARC format / recommendations by the IFLA Working Group on Content Desinators and the IFLA Section on Cataloguing and the IFLA Section on Mechanization. - 2nd rev. ed. - London : IFLA Internaional Office for UBC. - 1980. - XII, 131 p. ; 30 cm.
ISBN 0-903043-24-6.

Waal, Hans van de. The application of geographical co-ordinates for retrieval of maps in a computerized map-catalogue.
In: International yearbook for cartography, XIV, 1974, pp. 166-173.

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