Annotated Bibliography

Alonso, P.A.G and D.F. Prescott. "Deweying maps". The Australian Library Journal (March 1977): 47-52. Alonso and Prescott argue that staff are more familiar with Dewey than Boggs & Lewis, and therefore DDC is the more useful system. The article notes that patrons usually want access to maps according to geographic location; "subject numbers on maps are an unnecessary refinement" (48). When there is a collection with many maps of the same geographic area, subject qualification is acceptable. The article suggests subdividing by date, and advocates a dual approach of providing geographic area and subject access to maps. This is an aspect in which UDC is useful, and DDC is weak.

Boggs, Samuel. "Library Classification and Cataloging of Geographic Material". Annals of the Association of American Geographers 27, no. 2 (June 1937): 49-85. The article is a report submitted to the Council of the Association of American Geographers in 1936. Boggs argues that patrons should be able to access map collections by area, subject, author, and title. The article focuses on the classification and cataloguing of geographic material in an American library with the Dewey and Library of Congress classification systems. Boggs recommends that libraries with map collections adopt the subject classification developed by the American Geographical Society (now known as the Boggs & Lewis classification system). The appendix of the article includes the classification subjects of the Boggs & Lewis classification system.

Boggs, Samuel W. and Dorothy Lewis Cornwell. The Classification and Cataloging of Maps and Atlases. New York: Special Libraries Association, 1945. This is a guidebook to applying the Boggs & Lewis classification system. The order of importance in filing maps is area, subject, date, author and title. Boggs and Lewis stress the importance of the date of situation of the map, not merely the date of publication or reprinting. Other special areas of interest are covered.

Brenan, Margaret. "Boggs and Lewis in a Small Map Library". The Australian Library Journal (April 1975): 111-113. According to Brenan, "what one needs to know is area-subject-scale-date of compilation", rather than the traditional bibliographic information (112). According to this article, Boggs & Lewis put subject content in 10 groups, represented by a letter, as opposed to the vast number of subjects in the LCC or DDC systems. Unfortunately the Boggs & Lewis system is not standardized, but must be adapted to each collection.

Larsgaard, Mary Lynette. Map Librarianship: An Introduction. 2nd edition. Littleton, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, 1987. Library of Congress subject headings are not always satisfactory for dealing with maps. Larsgaard says that map librarians may need to create their own headings, and keep notes of the new headings as exceptions (153). Boggs & Lewis is more commonly used in Canada and Australia while AGS (American Geographical Society System) is more common in the U.S. In Boggs & Lewis city maps are catalogued within the region, using a formula based on the spelling of the city name (93-95). Reference work is a relatively unexamined area of study in map library literature. Larsgaard has stated that the most frequently asked reference questions pertain to geographic area plus specific thematic data with time period implied or stated. Map librarians are far more likely to do referrals than are other librarians. (213-215)

Library of Congress. "Map Cataloging Manual: Contents". Cataloger's Reference Shelf. The Library Corporation, 2001. <http://www.itsmarc.com/crs/map0001.htm> [February 12, 2005]. This site is based on the Map Cataloging Manual, prepared by the Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress; Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; 1991. The site provides very specific rules for cataloguing and doing subject analysis on maps.

Library of Congress. "MARC 21 Concise Format for Bibliographic Data". In MARC Standards. 2004. Accessed March 15, 2005. <http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/ecbdhome.html>. This is an online guide to the MARC 21 format. It is the standard used in libraries for the representation and exchange of authority, bibliographic, classification, community information, and holdings data in machine-readable form for printed and manuscript textual materials, computer files, maps, music, continuing resources, visual materials, and mixed materials. MARC 21 may be used for all cartographic materials, including sheet maps and globes in printed, manuscript, electronic, and microform format. This website contains a full listings of all MARC 21 tags, indicators, and subfield codes.

Library of Congress. "Understanding MARC Bibliographic". In MARC Standards. December 2003. Accessed March 15, 2005. <http://www.loc.gov/marc/umb/um07to10.html>. This guide was written by Betty Furrie in conjunction with the Data Base Development Department of the Follett Software Company and published in collaboration with the Library of Congress. As part of the guide, this webpage contains a description and methods of usage of the MARC 21 tags used most frequently by libraries in the creation of bibliographic records.

Lubas, Rebecca. "The Evolution of Bibliographic Control of Maps". Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 35, no. 3/4 (2003): 437-446. Lubas's article presents a history of map cataloguing. She notes that even though maps have been used throughout history, they have not been as organized or catalogued as well as books until relatively recently. Printed catalogues of early libraries often omitted the mention of maps and early attempts at map cataloging were sporadic. There was also a lack of popular subject headings as geography was not considered a classical discipline and maps were not always considered reliable sources of information. Cataloging and classification efforts developed with the increase in the types and numbers of thematic maps being produced by the beginning of the twentieth century. Maps in special collections were the first to receive cataloguing attention and preservation efforts. In 1902, Thomas Letts made some recommendations in Library Journal towards making the cataloguing process more efficient. In 1927 Cambridge University Library's Rules for the Catalogues of Printed Books, Maps & Music stated that rules for maps were, "not widely different from those which obtain for the cataloguing of books". Samuel Whittemore Boggs disagreed as he felt topical matter and geographic subject distinguishes maps from all other formats. Boggs advocated that geographic resources should be arranged by area first.

Ohanley, Suanne. "A Brief History of Map Cataloguing". In Providing Access to Cartographic Materials. 2001. Accessed March 16, 2005. <http://www.slais.ubc.ca/people/students/student-projects/S_Ohanley/...>. This page on the history of map cataloguing is a webpage within a website intended, “for the novice cataloguer", created as part of course requirements for the University of British Columbia’s course LIBR 513 (Advanced Bibliographic Control: Description & Name Access). The history section examines how the cataloguing of maps has progressed since the end of the 18th century. The webpage examines how maps differ from other library materials and finds that a need exists for map-specific cataloguing conventions and classification systems.

Ross, Tim. Interview with authors, March 21, 2005. Tim Ross provided an overview of the use of both the Library of Congress and the Boggs & Lewis subject heading and classification systems at the University of British Columbia. Ross also clarified the use of both systems historically, and currently, in general terms.

Ross, Tim. Reference Guide to the HSS Map & Atlas Collection. August 2004. Unpublished. This staff resource for librarians at the University of British Columbia’s Koerner Library provides an introduction to the Humanities and Social Sciences Map and Atlas Collection. It defines the various types of maps in the collection, their method of preservation and call number construction. Instructions are provided on how to search for cartographic materials using the online catalogue and how to retrieve cartographic materials at UBC.

Shawa, Tserin Wangyal. The Library of Congress Classification Scheme for Cartographic Materials. 1998. Accessed March 14, 2005. <http://www.princeton.edu/~shawatw/classifi.html>. This website with Geographic Information Resources and online articles was created by an Assistant Map Librarian at Princeton University Libraries. This particular article examines the aims of classification systems and how the classification of maps differs from monographs. It outlines the various classification systems for maps and argues that Library of Congress is the superior classification system. The Library of Congress Schedule G Classification for maps is based on area and divided on a hierarchical system. The article details broader subdivisions in the alphanumeric system.

Tenner, Elka and Katherine H. Weimer. "Reference Service for Maps". Reference & User Services Quarterly 38 no. 2 (1998): 181-186. Reference librarians that serve collections with a significant maps component must be aware of the unique challenges of map cataloguing in order to provide access to materials. The standardized descriptive cataloging format developed for monographs is not particularly suited to describe cartographic materials. The significant access points for monographs are problematic for maps, which are best accessed via subject analysis. Subject analysis for cartographic materials consists of geographical and topical information. The most difficult factor in determining map subject headings is judging the area covered by the map. Name changes of the geographic area also create difficulties. For libraries using Library of Congress classification and subject headings, the first heading will be the one that corresponds to the classification number. Library of Congress classifies maps first by place and then by topic. For maps with more than one area, catalogers are instructed to use the next higher administrative or regional class level.

University of Waterloo. "The Nature of Maps". In Geography 156. 2003. Accessed March 15, 2005. <http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/crs/geog165/maps.htm>. This webpage is part of a course website in the Department of Geography at the University of Waterloo taught by Dr. Douglas Dudycha. Various uses and definitions of mental, virtual and real maps are provided. Both real and virtual maps are graphical representations of data and their spatial relationships. The three main functions of maps - navigation, visualization, and measurement - are outlined. The advantage of maps is that a graphical description can be more objective and more efficient than a verbal description, yet it should be realized that a limitation of maps is that they are but a summary of selected facts about reality.

Vancouver Public Library. "Guide to the Map Collection". In History & Government Division. 2004. Accessed March 14, 2005. <http://www.vpl.ca/branches/LibrarySquare/his/StudyGuides/map_collection.html>. This guide to Vancouver Public Library’s map collection outlines the types of maps and atlases within their collection. The guide lists how various maps are made accessible whether they are uncatalogued or catalogued. Uncatalogued maps are accessible through print indexes and catalogued maps are accessible through the Boggs & Lewis System.

 
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