National progress report of The Netherlands 1986-1988

1. Dutch Union Map Catalogue (DUMC)
   For some time it seemed that survival of the DUMC was not possible, except as a subsystem to an all-library automation organisation. However, amongst other things through the constant pressure of mapcurators, it slowly dawned upon administrators and automation-experts that adequate information about cartographic materials in an On-line surrounding can only be met when justice is done to the specific requirements of cartographic materials. Unfortunately it took some 5 years to come to this conclusion. This resulted amongst other things in a DUMC with approximately 30,000 map-descriptions and a PICA-database with approximately 37,500 map-descriptions. These databases have to be integrated. Plans to come to a new DUMC are maturing and will, hopefully, substantiate in the near future. During the next conference we hope to be able to show the results.

2. Working Group for Mapcuratoship of the Dutch Cartographic Society
   In the past 2 years the working group has again organized 4 study days. The topics were:
   • Aerial photographs and satellite images with papers on the use of these as sources of information, their conservation. and new ways of access with aid of computers;
   • Introduction of digital cartography in mapcuratorship with papers on map-editing with computers, digital information-processing with the Soil Survey Institute, creation of maps from a digital database of the State Planning Service;
   • Archival law and mapcuratorship in archives with papers about the archival law, the managing of maps and prints in the Municipal Archives of Rotterdam, 'MAIS' (Micro Archive Inventory System) and 'Archeion' (a computerized management-system for archives) and a video about the Delta-works;
   • Developments and future of mapcuratorship with papers on the need of a Cartographic Information Centre, schooling, the future of the DUMC, the work of the Dutch Cartographic Society, and the need for coordination of acquisition between university libraries. This last study day was also used to commemorate the fact that mrs. Riet Clement-van Alkemade retired as mapcurator of the map collection of the library of the Free University of Amsterd1am after more than 20 years of service. As her presence on this conference shows this will not be the end of her being interested in mapcuratorship, except that she may go about it in a somewhat more leisurely fashion.
   The study days included visits or introductions to the collections of the ITC, Topographic Service, Municipal Archives of Rotterdam, State Archives of the Province of Zeeland and the Library of the Free University of Amsterdam.

   During this period the working group published a List of recommended abbreviations in aid of the description and inventory of cartographic materials with same 240 terms.

   The board of the working group in consultation with the Dutch Cartographic Society has decided to organize in 1989 a 4-day summercourse with the topic map-description, which focuses on the problems of multi-part maps, physical description area and mathematical data area. Furthermore she decided not to pursue the publication of a semi-scientific publication about Dutch and Flemish mapcollections. Instead she will try to organize a revised edition of the List of mapcollections in The Netherlands, which will incorporate broader information about the collections than the former one.

3. Education of mapcurators
   In 1988 the 125-hour course Map- and Atlas-management of the GO (Foundation for Collective schooling for Archive, Library, Documentation and Information Processing) takes place for the second time. The 1987-course saw 15 candidates pass the exams successfully. We hope to add this year another 13 candidates (of which one comes every time all the way form Paris!). As the 1987 and 1988 courses started from February and ended in December the 1989/1990 course will follow the normal college-year from September to May/June. Contrary to the former courses, which were integrated courses for curators of map-collections and topographical-historical atlases, the GO-H Education Committee will try to develop a modulated course (all modules together will be some 160 hours), which does more justice to the specific requirements of the different collections. Candidates can choose to attend a module (certificate of attendance), a certain amount of modules (certificate of completion with examination) or attend a full course (at least modules up to 125 hours, with examinations and full certificate). Management-modules will be obligatory, while modules which stress certain aspects of specific work are facultative.
   Now and in future lectures are given by acting curators of mapcollections, archives and documentation-centres and by lecturers or professors of the geography departments of the Universities of Utrecht and Nijmegen.

4. History of cartography
   The 'Foundation XIIIth International Conference on the History of Cartography' is well on its way with the organisation of the 1989-conference. The conference themes will be:
   1. Cartography: between art and science?
   2. Innovations in maritime cartography between 1650 and 1800.
   3. Knowledge and market mechanism as impulses for map publishing.
   4. Developments in thematic cartography in the nineteenth century .
   5. Cartography as an element in colonial administration since 1750.
   In addition to paper-sessions there will be an 'open market', where there will be an opportunities to present short papers on the themes of the conference and other themes. The conference themes will be supported by exhibitions. In Amsterdam three exhibitions are planned, in the Amsterdam Historical Museum, the state Museum 'Dutch maritime Museum', and the State Museum for Prints. In The Hague exhibitions will be organized in the General State Archives and in the Museon where the Leyden University Library will mount an exhibition.

5. Maps and archives
   During this period some important publications have been published. Firstly there is the Terminology for maps and drawings, which will soon be published in its definite version in the Archievenblad (Journal for Archives). This publication constitutes the basis for the syllabus for the courses at the State Archives School. Then there is the Handleiding voor het beheer van een topografisch-historische atlas (Guide for the management of topographical-historical atlases), edited by P. Ratsma and C.C.S. Yilmer. This 215-page book is a welcome aid to curators and to teachers of courses. Lastly we would like to mention Admissies als landmeter in Nederland voor 1811 (Surveyor's admissions in The Netherlands prior to 1811), edited by E. Muller and K. Zandvliet.
   In the past 2 years the archives of the Deltaworks (ca. 90,000 maps, mainly calques) have been taken into the State Archives in the Province of Zeeland. To the General State Archives have been added the archives of the Topographical Survey prior to 1932, the archives of the Hydrographical Office prior to 1950 (including former colonial archives) and the archives of the State Building Department prior to 1940. Together with other collections these have boasted the map-holdings of the General State Archives to approximately 200,000 items.

6. Dutch dictionary of technical terms in cartography
   In the period 1985-1987 the Dutch Cartographic Society has published a 67-page volume of technical terms in cartography with their definitions in the Cartographic Journal, 1985-XI-2/1987-XIII-1. This dictionary is based on the 2nd edition of the Multilingual Dictionary of Technical Terms in Cartography of 1985 and contains approximately 1,200 terms. In 1988/89 a definite edition will be published as a single volume, which will contain also the English, French and German equivalents.

7. University-education in earth-sciences and geography
   In the past period the Ministry of Education and Science decided to relocate certain university departments and to concentrate certain studies in certain universities. This resulted amongst other things in the fact that the Geology department of the University of Amsterdam was transferred to the Free University of Amsterdam (which will mean eventually that the mapcollection will be boosted by same 20,000 geological maps, etc.) and that the Geography department of the Free University of Amsterdam was transferred to the University of Amsterdam.

8. Exhibitions
   The main exhibitions during this period were:
   • Zuiderzeemuseum: De VOC in de kaart gekeken (looking at maps and charts of the Dutch East India Company)
   • State Museum Amsterdam: De physieque existensie dezes lands/Jan Blanken, inspecteur-generaal van de waterstaat (1755-1838). (The physical existence of the country's main character/Inspector-general of engineering works Jan Blanken)
   • Leyden University Library: Goed gezien (well seen). A commemorative exhibition because of the 400th year of existence of the University Library, which showed scientific illustrations during the past 10 centuries)

Jan Smits, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, National Library of The Netherlands

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