• Meet Linda Newman

Benchmarks: People & Jobs

• UC San Diego has a new map librarian


• WAML has New Members!

New Maps of the WAML Region

• October
• November

Other Map Organization Journals

• Coordinates (MAGERT)
• NEMO Newsletter
• Australian Map Circle
  Newsletter

• WAML Meeting in February: Attend this special joint meeting with the California Map Society at the Huntington Library over the President's Day weekend, February 15-18, 2007. The early bird dinner will be Thursday and the field trip will be on Sunday, with the meeting on Friday and Saturday.
  (Note the change from WAML's usual Weds.-Sat. schedule.)
  Registration forms will be mailed in mid-January.
  Take a look at the tentative schedule!


• Scientists at the US Geological Survey are the latest to be subjected to controls on research, according to media reports. (You'll need to scroll down to get to the USGS article.) As per the new rules, screening is mandatory for all facts and interpretations by agency scientists who study a vast range of subjects - from caribou mating to global warming. The rules apply to all scientific papers and other public documents, including minor reports and prepared talks.


• From an email from Linda Johnson to MAPS-L:
  Nominate Notable Documents!
  Yes Virginia, there is still time to nominate state, federal, or international documents in any format (paper, micro, digital) before the holidays. The annual article appearing in the May 15 issue of Library Journal is truly a gift to the national library community as it highlights & acknowledges noteworthy publications of general & lasting interest. Access & ordering information is included so no one need be left out in the cold.
  So sing your praises of government information by filling out the form listed below
  by December 31, 2006.
  (This would be a great way to draw attention to your favorite new map! - Editor)

  Find the form at:
  http://www.ala.org/ala/godort/godortcommittees/godortpublications/notdocform.htm A brief description & listing of the articles at:
  http://www.ala.org/ala/godort/godortcommittees/godortpublications/notdoc.htm
  

• Rumsey Maps are now in Google Earth, Phil Hoehn (Rumsey Map Librarian) announced. 16 Maps from the David Rumsey Map Collection can now be viewed in Google Earth, along with modern satellite imagery and many other layers of geographic data. To view the maps, download the latest version of Google Earth (PC and Mac versions), then go to
  Layers/Featured Content/Rumsey Historical Maps.
  To enable transparency of the historic map layers, click on the Rumsey Historical Maps folder when viewing a map and a slider bar will appear that will adjust transparency for comparison of old and new maps images . Additional maps will be added in the coming months.


• Barbara Cox, Coordinator of Library Selectors in the Collection Development Division of Marriott Library, University of Utah, posted this message (through Utah Map Librarian Ken Rockwell) to MAPS-L:
  Those readers of this list who are also responsible for geography
  collections might want to look at an editorial in Geoforum "Is this journal worth US$1118?"
  You can also read Elsevier's reply.
  The editor uses the methodology developed by Prof. Bergstrom, who forwarded these links and his comments to the LibLicence list.
  
• In response to a query on MAPS-L, Linda Zellmer noted that the link to the GPO shipping lists is available on the WAML Map Librarian's toolbox. The link to the GPO version is at: http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov/fdlp01.htm.

• Future WAML Meetings:
  • Pasadena, February 2007 (see above)
  • Denver, October 24-27, 2007
  • Las Vegas, early March 2008
  • San Diego, Fall 2008

• Canadian librarians were able to get a statement read in Parliament by MP Pierre Lemieux about the closing of the Canada Map Office (for a copy of the Statement please see the official record of the 39th Parliament, 1st session, edited Hansard, number 88 for Tuesday, November 28, 2006 the Canada Map Office.)
  An article from Heather McAdam, the Chair of the Map Users Advisory Committee was published in the Hill Times on December 4th, titled " Government should commit to a national mapping policy. "

• Linda Newman (our member of the Month!) announced this new web site:
  It is my great pleasure (and relief) to bring to your attention our latest creation: 3000+ historic plats of Nevada. The detail to be found on them is incredible and proved very useful from the CD’s long, long before we got them on our site. This project took 2 years by State Lands to scan and 2 years for me and the tech folks to do our end in producing the site and, if I may say so, I’m quite thrilled.
  
• Starr Hoffman, Librarian for Digital Collections / Government Documents at the University of North Texas Libraries, announced two new digital GovDoc collections at UNT.
  They have a collection of Federal Newsmaps, circa World War II, available for browsing. They also mounted a collection of World War posters, digitized from their Rare Book & Texana Collections.
• Susan Greaves, GIS / Map Librarian at Queen's University, Kingston ON, announced an excellent new map and teaching resource kit on the topic of Canada's watersheds. (CARTA-L, 16 Nov 2006)
  You can request your own free copy.
  
• New York Public Library announced the addition to their web site of over 1700 New York City fire insurance maps and topographic map sets dating from the 1850s to the early 1920s. They hope to have more to follow soon.
  
• Need a little mental break? Send someone a GeoGreeting or enjoy the Strange Maps web site!