IFLA Section of Geography and Map Libraries
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Title	Digital Map Librarianship: Reference
Reference	The notion of a reference function on the website should model the library's map library reference function. That is, it should be based on the particular needs of the user community of the map library. A research library's general map collection's selections will be more general than a geology and map collection, for example. The trend has been to provide a categorized selection of types of links. For example, General Reference, Dictionaries, Bibliographies and so on. Clearly, the model is of a virtual reference shelf for the on-line user. Building the reference resource is a two-step process. The first is relatively simple, determine the primary user group. The only caveats here are that the primary user group in a on-line environment can tend to be a bit more expanded. At MAGIC, for example, the predominant on-line user community is not the academic community, whereas the primary and predominant community of the map library are the faculty, staff and students of the University of Connecticut. For the pro-active librarian, this provides an opportunity... expanding the user community and the library's role in the community. The second step is more difficult. Building the collection. Fortunately there are a number of "mega" sites that compile voluminous lists of geo-related sites. "Oddens's Bookmarks: The Fascinating World of Maps and Mapping" at the Universiteit Utrect is an excellent source for international sites, but most especially North American and European sites. Also, using search engines such as MetaCrawler to refine the selections, especially with languages other than English and characters other than roman. Periodic attention must be paid to the links to assure that they are still live. As with the paper world, collections need to be weeded, enhanced and generally managed in order to provide the greatest efficiency.
Suggested Citation	McGlamery, Patrick, "Digital Map Librarianship: Library functions; Reference." Digital Map Librarianship: a working syllabus, 63rd IFLA Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark. (4, Sept. 1997; updated 9, Aug. 1999) <http://magic.lib.uconn.edu/ifla/lb_rf.htm>

Patrick McGlamery Map Librarian Map and Geographic Information Center University of Connecticut Libraries Storrs, CT 06268 libmap1@uconnvm.uconn.edu