Projecting the Map Collection: Academic Map Libraries and Communicating the Value of Services on the World Wide Web
Jessica Kilfoil · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · 2019
Map librarians face communication challenges in promoting their collections to an academic community. The interdisciplinary nature of map collections, combined with the lack of experience many patrons have with spatial data, make it difficult for map collections to claim a well-defined user group. Map librarians must communicate to a broad group in order to alleviate patrons' intimidation and to encourage exploration of map collections. The World Wide Web is a communication medium that is effective for reaching a wide audience. This paper analyzes the contents twenty-six academic map collection websites. Special attention is devoted to accessibility, elementary and advanced description of spatial data tools and resources, the provision of online map resources, and the presence of instructional documents and services.