Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche, Groupe des Cartothécaires de LIBER

TRA NSLATE ENGLISH to Français, Deutsch, Italiano, Português, Español! Explanation

BASIC AND CONTINUED TRAINING OF MAP CURATORS
Franz Wawrik, Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Wien

© LIBER and the author

In 1990, during the LIBER-map curators' meeting in Paris, the working group "education of map curators" was asked to investigate the level of map curators' training in the member countries of LIBER. To standardize the results a questionnaire consisting of 33 questions was worked out and sent to the national correpondents of the countries.
Altogether the correspondents of the following 10 countries took part in the interrogation: Luxemburg (Emil van der Vekene), Switzerland (Thomas Klöti), Denmark (Inger Lise Norregaard), Great Britain (Andrew tatham), France (Monique Pelletier, Pierre-Yves Duchemin), Finland (Pirkko Korttinen), Germany (Lothar Zögner), The Netherlands (Jan Smits), Catalonia (Montserrat Galera i Monegal) and Austria (Franz Wawrik).
The results, summarized in this report, suggest wide variations in levels of basic and continuing training of map curators in these countries. Along way ahead of the field is The Netherlands, where correspondence courses hold a secure place in map librarianship and in the career of map curators. On the other hand Luxemburg has no training at all, and it appears there are no plans to correct this unsatisfactory situation. In Denmark post-education courses about cartographic materials are offered but they are very general, and in Switzerland they are just discussing an education programme.
The larger map collections are usually housed in libraries, museums, universities, archives, or sometimes in authorities; seldom are they the property of private collectors. Naturally the number of collections in a state depends on its size and its population. Only a very few of these departments are run by full-time curators, most of them are managed by a member of the staff of the host institute employed part-time (often only occasionally) on this task.

Number of map collections in a country / Number of map curators 

    Luxemburg:           3          /         0

    Switzerland:         69         /         ca. 6

    Denmark:             ca. 80     /         ca. 20

    Great Britain:       450        /         200

    France:              156        /         69

    Finland:             ???        /         ???

    Germany:             770        /         50

    Netherlands:         ca. 150    /         100

    Catalonia:           25         /         25

    Austria:             ca. 100    /         ca. 10

In order to provide any education the existence of an organisation for map curators and supporting their interests seems to be of fundamental importance. Such an organization usually initiates map curators' education. In most cases this will be a cartographic society, sometimes a librarians' association. Thus, in Austria for example, map curators formed a sub-division of the Austrian Librarians' Association in 1985. (Other kinds of map curators, such as archivists, also have access to its meetings.) The only case of map curators' training being managed by a cartographic production department is found in Catalonia where the "Cartoteca de Catalunya", a section of the "Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya", organizes the course.

Name of map curators organization (Name of the mother-organization)

Luxemburg: an separate organization for map librarians and -cataloguers is momentarily under discussion
Switzerland: Arbeitsgruppe Kartenbibliothekare [BBS] (Verband der Bibliothekare und der Bibliothekarinnen)
Denmark: Danish Map Curator Group (Danske Kartografiske Forbund)
Great Britain: Map Curator's Group (British Cartographic Society)

France: Commission de Documentation (Comité Français de Cartographie)
Finland: no organization
Germany: Arbeitskreis der Kartenkuratoren (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kartographie)
Netherlands: Werkgroep Kaartbeheer (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Kartografie)
Spain: Sociedad Espagnola de Cartografia, Fotogrametria y Teledetección
Austria: Kommission für Landkarten- und Vedutenbearbeitung (Vereinigung Österreichischer Bibliothekare)

It appears that only in Austria a training course (albeit very short) in map curatorship is obligatory for all new librarians. It consists of a 2-hours lesson and a practical of similar duration in the Map Collection of the Austrian National Library. These are attended by 20þ25 candidates. The very short time only allows for the teaching of the most important facts of working with maps, such as calculating the scale and conservation.
Members of the course seem to be very interested and often keep in contact with the lecturers even after the course, especially when they have problems administrating cartographic materials in their own institution.

The situation of continuing training of map curators is quite a different matter!

As mentioned above it has developed very differently in the countries examined. Once again the The Netherlands is out in front. Here, interested people can have very intensive and well organized courses of different duration. Elsewhere, the Danish library schools in Copenhagen and Aalborg jointly offer two courses for map librarians. One of these, "Maps and Atlases" lasts five days, the other one, "Cartographic materials", three days. Moreover it is possible to spend two or three months as a volunteer in the Map Department of the Royal Library in Copenhagen. A few of the trainees wrote their examinations on topics of map curatorship. Currently, in Denmark, consideration is being given as to whether there could be a joint education of map curators together with other Scandinavian states.

Continuing training courses are mostly offered in alternate years; in some states they are only held occasionally. The categories of persons admitted to the training is not clearly defined except in France where only librarians with an academic degree have access. The participation of the courses is voluntary, except in France, where the successful completeion of the course is necessary for a career as a map curator. In most of the states examined it is not necessarily the case that a person who has undertaken such a course will hgain any career advantage. Only in Germany this seems to prove right.

Usually, applications have to be made in written form. In Austria it is planned to announce the courses of continuing training (the first one shall take place in spring next year) in the Journal of the Austrian Librarians' Association. If there are too many applications, participation is decided by day of receipt. There may be two courses within a short period, one for the eastern, and one for the western parts of Austria.

The number of participants vary in the different countries between 15 and 35. If courses include exercises and discussions, the optimal number should be limited to 15-20. In France, where the course is mainly lectures, up to 250 persons are admitted. The organizers have different views about the selction of candidates, but it seems that the majority prefer open access to the courses. Where the number of trainees has to be small, there has to be a selection. In France an entrance examination takes place. In other countries the date of the application's arrival at the organizers' office determines participation. Of course, the candidates need the consent of their superiors to participate.

The expenses of the courses are usually covered by membership subscriptions of the trainees, which normally are paid by their employers. This is so in Switzerland, where the costs are expected to lie between SFr 150.-- and 250.--, but also in the Netherlands, where the fee for the GO-H (opleiding kaart- en atlas beheer) course is Dfl 3,025.-- and for the summer course is Dfl 250,--. In France the course is financed by the University and by the Ministry of Education, in Germany by the Free University of Berlin. In Austria it is probable that the costs will be covered by the librarians' association, which will be at least partly supported by subsidies from the Ministry of Science and Research. The courses all consist of theoretical lectures and practical exercises, and often also include excursions. Usually they take place in leading map production departments of the countries (Germany, Netherlands, Catalonia etc.), but also in universities. The courses mostly last between 1 and 4 days, although France and The Netherlands (GO-H six months) are exceptions.

Duration of the courses


    Luxemburg:           0

    Switzerland:         2 days

    Denmark:             2 days and 5 days

    Great Britain:       1 day

    France:              4 hours (?)

    Finland:             1/2-3 days

    Germany:             4 months, each 2 days a week

    Netherlands:         6 months; 4 days

    Catalonia:           4-5 days

    Austria:             4-5 days

Organizers

    Luxemburg:           nil

    Switzerland:         Arbeitsgruppe Kartenbibliothekare BBS

    Denmark:             Library schools in Copenhagen and Aalborg

    Great Britain:       various

    France:              Ministère de l'Education; Nanterre, Université; Fondation
                         nationale des Sciences Politique, School for Librarians

    Finland:             Finnischer Bibliotheksverein; Zentralamt für Landesvermessung,
                         Kartenzentrale (former Kartendruckerei des Zentralamtes für
                         Landesvermessung); University Library Helsinki

    Germany:             Freie Universität, Berlin, Institut für Bibliothekarsausbildung;
                         Staatsbibliothek Preuþischer Kulturbesitz, Kartenabteilung

    Netherlands:         1. Stichting gemeenschappelijke opleiding voor archief, bibliotheek,
                         documentatie en informatiebewerking (GO-H);

                         2. Nederlands Vereniging voor Kartografie

    Catalonia:           Cartoteca de Catalunya (Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya) and the
                         Geography Department of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona

    Austria:             Vereinigung Österreichischer Bibliothekare, Kommission für
                         Landkarten- und Vedutenbearbeitung; Östereichische Nationalbibliothe Kartensammlung
In some countries the courses are additionally supported by other institutions like in Great Britain by the Library Association, and the Map Curators' Group (British Cartographic Society) or in Finland by the Zentralamt für Landvermessung. The heads of the courses, addresses 


    Luxemburg:           N.A.

    Switzerland:         Thomas Klöti, Arbeitsgruppe Kartenbibliothekare (BBS),
                         Elisabethenstraþe 5, CH-3014 Bern

    Denmark:             ???

    Great Britain:       A. Tatham, King's College London (for 1989) (present: Geographical
                         Society, London SW7 2AR); C. Perkins, University of Manchester (for 1988,
 1990)

    France:              Centre national de cooperation des bibliothèques publiques,
6,
                         Avenue de France, F-91300 Massy; Université de
 Nanterre, Paris X, 200
                         Avenue de la Republique, F-92001 Nanterre Cedex; ENSB, Rue du 11
                         Novembre, 69 Villeurbanne

    Finland:             Laura Bäck, Suomen Kirjastoseura (Finnischer Bibliotheksverein),
                         Museukatu 18A, SFþ00100 Helsinki

    Germany:             Lothar Zögner, Staatsbibliothek Preuþischer Kulturbesitz,
                         Kartenabteilung, Postfach 1407, Berlin 30

    Netherlands:         1. P. Ratsma, Opleidingscommissie, Stichtung GO-H, Celebesstraat
89, NL-
                         2585 TG Den Haag;

                         2. Jan Smits, Koninklijke Bibliothek, Postbus 90.407, 2509 LK Den
                         Haag

    Catalonia:           Montserrat Galera i Monegal, Cartoteca de Catalunya, Institut
                         Cartogràfic de Catalunya, Balmes, 209þ211, Eþ08
                         Barcelona

    Österreich:     Franz Wawrik, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek,
Kartensammlung,
                         Josefsplatz 1, A-1015 Wien
Most of the lecturers are experienced map curators, -archivists and paper restorers, but among them are also university teachers, representing the disciplines of cartography, as well as history, geography and fine arts. Most of the programmes aim to explain to the new map curators the particular characteristics of cartographic materials.
Thus, in France topics are: types of map collections, map production, print technics, history of cartography, map cataloguing, preservation and conservation.
In Finland the course seems to be very practical. Titles of some of the sessions are: "Maps? what are they really?", "Where is it possible to buy maps?", "A map collection of a city library, a proposal", "What to do if one's own map collection is not sufficient".
As mentioned above the Netherlands have the most comprehensive and most sophisticated method of training for map librarians. There are two different courses. The one offered by GOþH consists of more or less independent modules. In the basic module, lasting 75 hours, the topics are acquisition, cataloguing and keeping of collection holdings, automatisation, retrieval and maps in archives. Six further modules (1. cartography [18 hours], 2. history of cartography [12 hours], 3. drawings and prints [18 hours], 4. photographs and AV-medias [12 hours], 5. maps in geography [12 hours] and 6. the use of pictures to describe the history of human life [12 hours]) are optional. The candidate has to choose at least four of these. That means that a 'normal' study will last c.. 117 hours (some 300 hours study-time). The candidate must pass written and verbal examinations in the basic and optional modules. In addition, the GO-H organizes a short course, "Accessing collections of artefacts and visual materials". 24 candidates have applied for the course in 1992.
A four-day summer course, organized by the Working Group for Map Curatorship of the Dutch Cartographic Society in cooperation with members of the Department of Geography of the Utrecht University. Topics have included accessibility of cartographic materials, mathematical data fields (scale, projection, co- ordinates), physical description area, multi-sheet documents. Such meetings are planned for every fourth year with topics concerning cartography or related disciplines.
The map department of the Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya in cooperation with the Department of Geography of the Autonom University of Barcelona is organizing within a six year period a series of seminars on the history of cartography, each of them lasting three or four evenings.The first part (1989- 1990) offered a general introduction into the history of cartography, the parts 2 - 6 descriptions of the developments of cartography in different countries (1990þ1991 Iberian Peninsula, 1991þ1992 Italy, 1992þ1993 Netherlands, 1993þ1994 France, 1994þ1995 England). Some of the papers given in the first year, such as "map collections. Their past and future", "reference and retrieval in cartography", "types of map collections" were of special interest to map curators. It is intended that at least a third of each annual course will be dedicated to mapcuratorship and its history.
The course in Austria, planned for spring 1993 will follow the pattern of the Dutch summer course. It will last 5 days. The details of map curatorship 9 and also the care of topographical views), e.g. mathematical and physical data, will be considered first. Notes accompaning the lessons and exercises are published, or are planned for publication.
An official and final examination of the participants only occurs in Germany and the Netherland. Because the training of map librarians is in its infancy course programmes change very frequently. In general the trend is towards more intensive courses.In so far as any research has been undertaken, most participants have had positive reactions to the courses and most think the courses will advance their career. Some participants have suggested shortening the courses or some changes to the programmes. Of the opinions of the participants' superiors, too little is known, but it must be feared, that some would reject more intensive forms of training because of the greater lenght of time away from the work place.
On the whole the responses to the questionnaire suggests that the training of map curators makes progress year by year. This goes hand in hand with a growing divergence between the courses, both in their intensity and their emphases. It therefore seems sensible, at least within the LIBER-group of map curators, to consider given the background of the European integration which will influence all aspects of librarianship, the desirability of standardization in the training of map curators' training.

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