BGS geoscience index system

It is appropriate, at a amap library automation workshop on the British Geological Survey's home ground, to consider a new initiative that has a bearing on BGS's map indexing activities. The geological map is a primary means of communicating geological information, especially that collected by methodical geological survey. BGS has therefore been a publisher of maps since 1835, mostly at 1:50 000 and smaller scales. In addition,BGS staff are users of geological and other maps world-wide, and the BGS Library holds a reference collection of some 200 000 maps. For these reasons, BGS undertakes map cataloguing and indexing. Conventional proceedures are followed, but are not adequate for all purposes. It is timely to look afresh at the user requirement, the nature of the map, and changes in survey methods.