Building a Map Collection: A Look at Transcripts and Printed Reproductions

For map archivists, the building of a map collection is either a creative and satisfying experience or an exasperating and difficult chore. Frequently, despite the existence of guidelines for collection of mapsL and the efforts of map archivists, the building of map collections in Canada has progressed at an uneven, often stodgy pace. Without a doubt, better funding is crucial to the pursuance of an active acquisition policy, but the availability of financial resources is often dependent upon the value the administration places on the map archivist's work. Where the administration sees merit and endorses the endeavours of the map archivist, usually the words of praise and support come with some financial backing. If both these conditions had been met in the past, the lot of Canadian map archivists would be brighter today. 2 The sad state of map collecting by Canadian archives was revealed at a seminar in 1980 sponsored by the National Map Collection of the Public Archives of Canada.3. Four archivists, responsible for cartographic records at the provincial archives of Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Prince Edward Island and the archives of the Northwest Territories, stated that they had no active acquisition programme. *The author wishes to thank Edward H. Dahl for helping with the photographs. On organizing and developing a map collection, see Roman Drazniowsky, comp., Ma