Map Librarianship: a Guide to Geoliteracy, Map and GIS Resources and Services. By Susan Elizabeth Ward Aber and Jeremy Ward Aber. Chandos Information Professional Series. Amsterdam: Chandos Publishing, 2017. 278 p. $81.95 softcover (ISBN: 978-0-0810-0021-2).
Some readers may opt to bypass the preface, which provides some interesting background as to the reason these authors decided to create Map Librarianship. The authors state that the goal for their book is to “enhance geoliteracy as well as reference instruction skills by providing details on finding, downloading, delivering, and assessing maps, remotely sensed imagery, and other geospatial resources and services, primarily from trusted government sources” (xiv). They focus on map librarianship and geoliteracy to fill the need for a single resource that helps map librarians promote the importance of libraries in the Geospatial Revolution. The authors comment that libraries and library schools are not recognizing their valuable role within this revolution and are missing out on service opportunities.
The opening chapter iterates some of the themes presented in the preface: the daily reliance on maps, both physically and digitally, the importance of maps, and how libraries need to be in the forefront of the Geospatial Revolution. The authors provide a brief history of geography and cartography, explaining the historical significance of map making throughout the years to demonstrate their evolution into NeoGeography and NeoCartography that we see today.
NeoGeography is described as “the divisions between traditional geographic roles of subject, producer, communicator, and consumer blurring together” due to changes in technology and society, allowing the consumer to perform the traditional geographic roles without formal training (8). NeoCartography is the visual presentation of these works on open-source and GIS/cartography visual platforms, such as Google Maps and Earth. The authors discuss the challenges and positive outcomes of consumer involvement in the Geospatial Revolution, some being the potential for biased data as well as the ability to perform crisis mapping. This is when traditional map librarianship also evolved.
The authors trace the history of map librarianship to explain its evolution into NeoMap Librarianship. NeoMap Librarianship is a “geo-literate librarian who [combines] knowledge of basic map and spatial-data concepts with a solid background in instruction services, reference services, collection development, classification schemes, and cataloging systems” (11). The new NeoMap Librarian will be vital in helping patrons navigate the Geospatial Revolution.
Throughout the rest of the book, the authors define the skill sets of the NeoMap Librarian, merging traditional librarian skills with geoliteracy knowledge. Geoliteracy is defined as the level of geo-education that the National Geographic Society believes that everyone in the 21st century needs to possess to behave responsibly and live well in our interconnected world (17). The authors describe various types of maps that exist, what they are commonly used for, and the basic concepts of map creation so that librarians and library users can “better interpret and use them as well as find maps that serve their specific needs” (69). They examine different digital mapping and geospatial software, citing pros and cons of some of the more popular ones. They comment that librarians need to be knowledgeable of these technologies so that they can develop instructional programs for patrons, as well as understand why and how these new technologies can help us “study the world and plan for future development” (94). With these new technologies come new training needs for librarians to learn how to properly use them.
The authors discuss how there is very little formal training in library schools to develop the necessary geoliteracy skills that the specialized equipment and technology require. By reviewing actual job postings, they seek to demonstrate that the skills being required are not what is being taught in library schools. Reference librarians need to be aware of the different type of geospatial resources and the legal restrictions, such as copyright, on their content. Focusing on the major providers, the authors explore each and describe what other countries, agencies and organizations have to offer in this area in order to provide a starting point for librarians.
Furthering reference-specific duties, the authors explain what a typical reference interview involving maps might be and the importance of having the map collection visible, offering suggestions for signage and storage to help the patron find the information after being helped. They also discuss the importance of helping patrons properly cite these sources as well as developing a good collection development plan to meet the geospatial needs of patrons.
Finally, the authors provide a brief history of cataloging and classifying maps to explain the current state of cataloging these resources. They discuss the importance of having maps within the online catalog because patrons are bypassing the library’s website for search engines when searching for resources. They stress the importance of making geospatial resources more visible to patrons, especially when libraries face budget and space constraints, and also advocate for libraries to participate in promoting and educating the public on geospatial resources.
Throughout the entire book, the authors present the challenges of map librarianship and how and why libraries are falling behind in the Geospatial Revolution. They succeed in achieving their goal by giving an introduction into geospatial resources and concepts, and by providing bibliographic resources after each chapter and additional information in appendices. The illustrations provide great visualizations and clarifications. However, these figures frequently appear on a different page than the topic discussed, making it difficult to associate the illustration with the previously discussed description.
Although covering a similar topic as other books about map librarianship, this volume’s focus on building geoliteracy skills for libraries to remain valuable makes it unique. Map Librarianship is recommended for anyone interested in becoming a NeoMap Librarian as well as institutions that house a map collection and wish to be a part of the Geospatial Revolution.—Cynthia A. Romanowski (cromanowski@govst.edu), Governors State University, University Park, Illinois