Ligue des Bibliothèques Europeènnes de Recherche, Groupe des Cartothécaires de LIBER
National progress report of Finland 2000-2004
Matti Munnukka
Organizing of the 13th Helsinki congress
After the 13th Congress of the Groupe de Cartothécaires de LIBER in September 2002 the activities
in map librarianship have been limited in Finland where the amount of map curators is very small
and most of them also have other duties to take care of.
Helsinki University Library
- Map cataloguing
Map cataloguing onto the Finnish National Bibliography Database FENNICA started in August 1993
as a project and reached a more or less normal production in May 1994. Now in September 2004, after
more than ten years work the Finnish National Bibliography database FENNICA contains over 39,000
map records (covering about 48,000 map sheets). All maps published in Finland since 1967 have been
cataloged onto the FENNICA database. Since the year 2003, the most requested old maps have also
been re-catalogued so that the amount of map records in the FENNICA database covers about the
three-quarters of Finnish maps. At present the bibliographic information of all the Finnish maps
in the Helsinki University Library can be found in catalogues, databases, catalogue cards,
videodisc or book.
- Legal Deposit Law
The publication of the New Legal Deposit Act has been delayed. This means that there is no legal
deposit for electronic material and the cataloguing work with electronic maps has not yet been
started.
- Map services and staff
A reorganisation of the map services in Helsinki University Library took place at the beginning of
the year 2003. A new post of a special map curator (a research post) was established. Matti Munnukka
who had worked as the map cataloguer for the Finnish National Bibliography and the Finnish
Collection of the Library was appointted to the post. Now there is one full-time map curator at
Helsinki University Library. In addition to that a couple of librarians assist the map services
part-time.
After the 13th GdC Conference in Helsinki the main organizer of the Finnish Organizing Committee
LIBER, Ms Pirkko Korttinen left for a sabbatical year and after that year she retired from Helsinki
University Library at the end of 2003.
National Archives of Finland
By the end of the year 2000 the maps of the Finnish National Archives had been cataloged onto
the NARC database together with other archival material. Since 2003 the database has been available
on the Internet. The map collection of the National Archives consisted of about 960,000 maps
at the end of the year 2003. At the beginning of the decade the National Archives of Finland
received an exceptionally large map deposit (over 700,000 maps) from the National Land Survey,
which have not yet been cataloged onto the NARC database.
The National Archives Digital Archive
The National Archives has digitized only a small part of its material but the digital archive
is constantly growing. So far maps of jurisdictional districts have been digitized and stored
on the digital archive. The contents of the National Archives Digital Archive can be accessed via
VAKKA - the archival database.
Map production
National Land Survey (NLS) is responsible for the national mapping in Finland. The basic map series
at 1:20,000 was completed in 1977 and it covers the whole of Finland. The Basic Map 1:20,000 is a
topographic map covering southern and central Finland. The Topographic Map 1:20,000 covers northern
Finland. The mapping work is carried out in co-operation with the Topographic Service of the
Finnish Defense Forces. In all, the 1:20,000 map series consists of about 3,730 map sheets.
One 1:20,000 scale sheet shows an area of 10 km x 10 km.
The publishing of a new National Land Survey topographical map series will start in 2005 at scales
of 1:25,000 and 1:50,000. The scale of the Basic Map will change from 1:20,000 to 1:25,000.
The new Basic Map has a new UTM sheet-line system and the map sheet will be larger than the old one
covering an area of 12 x 24 km. This means that the new map sheet will cover an area nearly three
times larger than the old map sheet. The new Basic Map 1:25,000 has also a new map projection
called EUREF-FIN. The EUREF-FIN coordinate system is tied to the GPS network.
After the merging of Karttakeskus and Geodata Ltd, the new Genimap corporation has been
concentrating on developing location-based Internet network data and mobile phones solutions
according to a general shift of map production from printed maps to CD map software, maps for WAP
and GPRS mobile phones and the Internet. The newest technology application is to supply map data
for a GPS/GSM solution developed especially for hunters, trekkers, berry pickers and other people
who need a GPS/GSM solution. Earlier only road maps and sea charts were available for a GPS
solution but now a topographic map database at 1:50,000 scale is also available.
Projects
The KYHIKA Maps Project was established a few years ago. It started as an initiative of two
enthusiasts and is now managed on a professional basis. KYHIKA Maps consists of manuscript maps
of the historical Kymenlaakso province in South-Eastern Finland and of nautical charts of the Gulf
of Finland from the 16th century to the middle of the 19th century. The maps have been photographed
in archives in Sweden, Russia and Finland. About 10,000 maps have so far been photographed
in the KYHIKA collection. The maps available on the web have a high enough resolution for basic
research. A higher resolution can be ordered on a CD. The high resolution maps can also be
researched free at the AV Centre in the municipality of Kotka. For more information:
http://kartat.kotka.fi
Another interesting collection consists of estate and taxation maps of the 17th and 18th
Century (title in Finnish: 1600-luvun maakirjakartat). The database contains 10,544 map records
and 11,457 pictures of 3,819 different maps. These maps are originally from the collection of the
National Survey of Finland but have recently been deposited in the collection of the National
Archives of Finland.
Anniversaries
The Chartarum Amici Club had its 40th anniversary in 2004 and organized a special meeting at
Helsinki University Library to celebrate the event.