LIBRARY COLLECTION POLICY STATEMENTS

I. PROGRAM INFORMATION

The Map Collection houses and services maps received on deposit from the U.S. Government Printing Office, through the National Program for Acquisitions and Cataloging (NPAC) and the Special Foreign Currency Program (PL480); maps which are part of the Hawaiian, Pacific, and Asia collections; and maps which have been acquired by those disciplines whose patrons require maps for their teaching and research, primarily geography, urban and regional planning, geology, history, and anthropology. In addition, the collection provides maps for scholars at the East-West Center, private planners, staff of state and federal agencies, and the public at large.

II. COORDINATION AND COOPERATIVE INFORMATION

Sheet maps and general cartographic assistance are available in the Map Collection; atlases, gazetteers, books on geography, cartography, remote sensing, statistical materials and the like are selected and housed in the general and area collections. Some reference atlases and gazetteers are also duplicated in the Map Collection.

On campus, the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics (HIG) has a map collection focusing on marine geology and marine geophysics.

Off campus, the following libraries have map collections: the Bishop Museum has an extensive Hawaii and Pacific map collection including aerial photos of Micronesia and Melanesia; the State Archives is the depository for maps issued by state offices; the State Survey Office, the main mapmaking office of the state government, has an extensive collection of maps and surveys done in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; NASA Pacific Regional Planetary Data Center has images and cartographic products from NASA.

The Map Collection currently houses approximately 130,000 sheet and folded maps, 86,000 aerial photographs, and various other sub-collections of other formats such as road maps, wall maps, etc.

III. GUIDELINES TO MATERIALS COLLECTED OR EXCLUDED

Language: Most of the maps are in English, with some others in Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Indonesian, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and Sanskrit.

Chronological: No limitations. The majority of the collection dates from World War II to the present, with a small percentage dated earlier. Emphasis is on current publications, except for Hawaii and Pacific where the objective is comprehensive coverage; acquisition is done by the area collections. The collection includes a rare maps section of approximately 250 maps of Asia and the Pacific from 1540 through the 19th century.

Geographic: World-wide, but the emphasis is on Hawaii, the Pacific, and Asia.

Publication Date: No limitations, but the emphasis is on current imprints.

Types/Formats of Materials Collected: Sheet, folded and rolled maps and charts; aerial photographs; atlases.

Treatment: Maps are mainly topographic; for Hawaii and the Pacific, the aim is more comprehensive, including also thematic maps of geology, vegetation, soils, climate, bathymetry, ethnolinguistic groups, population, etc. Aerial photographs cover Hawaii, Japan, and parts of Southeast Asia and the western Pacific, including the former Trust Territory of the Pacific. There is world coverage of nautical and aeronautical charts.

IV. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

In 1986, the Hamilton Library Map Collection became a state affiliate of the National Cartographic Information Center, now Earth Science Information Center (ESIC). ESIC was established by the U.S. Geological Survey to serve as the public's primary source for information concerning the availability of cartographic, geographic, and remotely sensed data. State affiliates provide this information through microform and printed indexes provided by ESIC. Additionally, state affiliates canvass their local governments, libraries, and private enterprises to identify the availability of cartographic material within their state.

Collection Strengths and Weaknesses

Collection strengths include complete coverage of the United States and its territories in large-scale topographic mapping, along with adequate coverage of the Pacific and Hawaii. The Manoa campus is the Regional Depository for all maps products issued through the United States federal distribution program, administered by the Government Printing Office, or, in some cases, the mapping agencies involved. Being on the distribution program has allowed the library to have excellent coverage of large-scale topographic maps and nautical charts of the United States.

1. U.S. Geological Survey
a) Topographic maps of the United States and its territories at a variety of scales;
b) Geological maps of the U.S. and other regions of the world.

2. National Ocean Survey
a) Nautical charts of domestic waters;
b) Aeronautical and planning charts of the nation's airways.

3. Defense Mapping Agency
a) Nautical charts including extensive coverage of foreign waters;
b) Aeronautical charts covering foreign areas;
c) Topographic maps including foreign and world-wide coverage at a variety of scales.

4. Central Intelligence Agency
a) In large part, small-scale topographic maps of most regions of the world;
b) General thematic maps.

5. Forest Service
a) Topographic maps of U.S. national forests.

6. National Park Service
a) Topographic maps of U.S. national parks.

7. Army Map Service
a) Topographic maps covering many parts of the world at small-scale, many dating back to the 1940s.

Other Major Surveys

1. Pan American Institute of Geography and History (PAIGH) and the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA).
a) Topographic maps of Latin America at a scale of 1:250,000.

2. Badan Koordinasi Survey of Dan Pemetaan Nasional (BAKOSURTANAL)
a) Topographic maps of Indonesia at large and intermediate scale.

3. Institut Geographique National, France (IGN)
a) Topographic maps of many Pacific islands at small to large scale.

4. Directorate of Overseas Survey, Great Britain (DOS)
a) Topographic maps of many Pacific islands at small to large scale.

5. Road Map file
a) Road maps of all 50 United States including general state and major city maps;
b) Road and travel maps of many foreign countries and their major cities.

The collection of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) large-scale topographic maps is the largest and most complete series. Being a depository collection is advantageous since collection development does not suffer from cancellations or funding cuts.

Additional collection strengths include adequate coverage of Western Europe and Asia (especially from the Army Map Service); good collection of nautical charts for domestic and foreign waters; extensive collection of U.S. naval photographs for parts of the western Pacific and Southeast Asia.

Weaknesses in the collection's holdings exist in Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, and eastern Canada. Researchers at Manoa are often interested in the lower latitudes outside the Pacific area for comparative studies; needed are maps of the tropical belt that includes Latin America, Central America, South America, and South Asia.

Although the Pacific and Southeast Asia coverage is fairly adequate, there is an ongoing need to obtain up-to-date large scale mapping of these areas. More thematic maps are also needed. Efforts to correct deficiencies are constant.

There are several acquisitions problems for these geographic areas. Political changes and instability exist in these regions, and their governments do not release map products, or release them only in limited quantities. Bureaucratic communication results in inquiries not answered at all or answered incompletely or unhelpfully.

Eighty-five percent of Map Collection acquisitions come through the G.P.O. regional depository program. Additional maps are acquired through gifts and exchange, the National Program for Acquisition and Cataloging (NPAC), and the Special Foreign Currency Program. There is a small budget for filling gaps, for replacement issues, and for reference tools.

Date compiled: 4/90 Compiler: Ross Togashi

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