2000

CL -- Geography

This title began publication in 1996, and covered the period 1992-1996 (see RREA 2:246). This continuation maintains the high quality and other features of the first volume. It covers series from institutions of higher education (720 titles); societies, academies, and research institutes (264), and publishing houses (182). In addition, it covers atlases that appear in fascicles, and journals, with all necessary bibliographical information. Although it draws from the same database as the Geographisches Taschenbuch (GT), it covers only publications that appeared in Germany (while the GT also includes Austria and Switzerland). On the other hand, unlike the GT, it analyzes the contents of anthologies and other collective works. Indexes cover authors, but not series editors; titles of series, atlases and journals; geographica; and broad subject categories (given in both English and German). This is a competently edited bibliography that clearly documents the German contribution to the field of geography. It is also available without charge on the Internet at <http://www.geographie.unitrier.de:8080/~zedeland/index.html>. [sh/nb]
 
 

After seven years the Section of Geography and Map Libraries of IFLA has issued a new edition of its world address book of map collections. It offers much more than just addresses: the user can find answers to many practical questions (contact names, hours, conditions of use, copying services, etc.) and also get an impression of the size and character of a particular collection. The concept has remained basically the same, but new and useful is the inclusion of e-mail addresses, as well as URLs for web pages. The layout has undergone a thorough reworking and is now clearer and easier on the eyes. The volume has grown considerably; the third edition had 522 entries, and the fourth has over one-third more (714). That this is a genuine quantum leap is shown by the list of countries represented, which has almost doubled (from 67 to 121). There are 29 African countries, while the last edition only had 11. Thus it is a good deal closer to being a "world directory." This comes at the cost of a stricter selection of collections in countries represented by other good directories--in Germany the map collection of the University Library in Tübingen is missing. The criteria for such deletions remain unclear. One therefore needs to use the national directories listed in the bibliography in addition to the World Directory of Map Collections.

Since the information is based on questionnaires, the map collections' willingness to cooperate sets a second limitation on the completeness of the work. Occasionally the information from the previous edition had to be used (if possible with the addition of e-mail addresses or websites); this is indicated by asterisks. If an institution did not answer last time and refused again, it was dropped (with a few exceptions, such as national libraries). The data collection was done over a period of three years, but the information could be updated in early in 2000, thanks to modern communication technology. More care should have been taken in editing the questionnaires. There are amusing mistakes in translation (the questionnaires were in French, Spanish, German, and Russian, as well as English). Errors in spelling and grammar, though, are bearable in number. All in all, the new version is clearly an improvement. [hdw/gh]

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