Ligue des Bibliothèques Europeènnes de Recherche, Groupe des Cartot hécaires de LIBER

National progress report of Switzerland 1998-2000

Activities of the Map Curator's Group
The Map Curator's Group did not meet in 1998, but held two meetings in 1999 and has thus far held one meeting in 2000. The meeting of 15 June 1999 took place in the map department of the Library of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), and the following new media were demonstrated: Cartographical CD-Roms; the digital atlas of Switzerland; the Eduard Imhof Virtual Library; electronic index sheets for map series; and the SIK-GIS-Dateninventar. Hans-Peter Höhener was elected successor to Thomas Klöti, who had been president of the Map Curator's Group since 1989.

On 15 November 1999, a meeting was held in the Federal Office of Topography at Wabern near Berne, combined with a tour of the same institution. On 15 May 2000, a meeting took place in the Pilgrim's Mission at St. Chrischona near Basle, where there is a relief of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (the old Temple Mountain) as in ca. 700, made in 1872-73 by Conrad Schick (1822-1901). There are plans to open a small museum in which this relief is to be shown.

A sub-group for cataloguing was formed in the Map Curator's Group, its first session being on 5 June 2000. The group will assess current cataloguing rules, its aim being to achieve a single, common cataloguing format for all map libraries in Switzerland in the future.

Activities in map libraries
The university libraries of German-speaking Switzerland - including the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - installed the Aleph500 system, run by Exlibris of Jerusalem. Aleph500 was first put into operation on 13 September 1999 in Zurich, and it will take some time before all the affiliated libraries have installed it. The Information Consortium of German Switzerland (Informationsverbund IDS) made a German translation of AACR2 rules for cartographic material. The draft translation was forwarded to the map librarians for consultation purposes. The Swiss National Library is collaborating on the translation, which will be published by Saur in Munich.

Schweizerische Landesbibliothek (Swiss National Library), Berne
The National Library in Berne now has new stacks in which maps are kept in new cases. In 2001 the library will move back from its provisional site to its former premises.

Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek (City and University Library), Berne
The Cataloguing of the Ryhiner Collection was finished, and this was celebrated with an exhibition entitled Weltensammler (Collector of worlds) in mid-1998. The University Library of Berne will publish a catalogue of the Ryhiner collection soon. A digitisation project for Bernensia was approved. Among the digitised works that will be offered online are ca 800 maps from the Ryhiner Collection.

Bundesamt für Landestopographie (Federal Office of Topography), Berne
In March 1999, the cataloguing of its ca 55,000 maps was begun using VTLS (Virginia Technical Library System). Until the end of May 2000, more than 10,000 maps had been catalogued (more than 63,000 sheets). Alexandria, the union catalogue of the federal administration, has been accessible online since 1 April 2000.

ETH-Bibliothek (Library of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Zurich
Agnes Kovacs presented a paper on picture information in library catalogues, using a map catalogue as an example (Bildinformation in Bibliothekskatalogen, aufgezeigt am Beispiel eines Landkarten-katalogs). On 13 November 1999, the Eduard Imhof Virtual Library was presented at the exhibition Cartography of Switzerland. A new, half-time post was created to cope with supplementary tasks pertaining to electronic maps.

Zentralbibliothek Zürich (City, Cantonal and University Library)
By the end of May 2000, more than 10,000 new and old maps had been catalogued in the online catalogue.

Exhibitions
Topographische Karten des Appenzellerlandes. 20 June to 19 September 1999. Museum Appenzell.

Von Typhus, Hagel, Brand und Wasser: Ein Streifzug durch die bunte Welt der Landkarten, from 25 September 1999 (closing date not yet decided upon). Ortsmuseum Dietikon.

Wem ghört waa? 150 Jahre Bannvermessung in Schleitheim. 25 September 1998 to March 1999. Ortsmuseum Schleitheim.

Landschaft in Menschenhand - 150 Jahre Michaeliskarte. The exhibition centred on the first topographical map of Canton Argovia is being shown in different towns in the Canton. 24 November 1999 to November 2000.

Verlage in der Zentralbibliothek Zürich: Matthieu-Verlag. 30 May to 22 July 2000. Zentralbibliothek Zürich. This publisher produces facsimiles of maps.

New publications
Monographs Facsimiles and Reproductions CD-ROMs

Hans-Peter Höhener, Zentralbibliothek Zürich