1. Geographical Sources LI 813XR Magda Born Kathryn Ballard

2. The study of geography encompasses, "environmental issues, regional planning, medical geography, political geography, mapping, and the general relationship between humans and their physical world." (Bopp & Smith, p. 460, 2001) Therefore, geographical sources are primarily used to answer location questions.

3. Standard Types of Geographical Sources:

4. A map is a graphic representation that attempts to describe the spatial relationship between objects. Maps generally provide more detailed information on a specific area, and provide better coverage than do atlases. Theft of maps is an ongoing problem for libraries. Maps are often difficult to store and preserve. Maps

5. Atlases Current atlases provide up-to-date information and need frequent updating. Historical atlases are needed to study military campaigns and changes in geographic boundaries. The defining characteristic of a thematic atlas is that it emphasizes a specific area or topic. An atlas is a collection of maps, sometimes containing supplemental information. Atlases come in three types, current, historical, and thematic.

6. Gazetteers Locational gazetteers provide information that helps in locating various features. Descriptive gazetteers contain additional information about a location such as population, GDP, Literacy rate, etc. A gazetteer is a geographic dictionary or index either appended to an atlas or published separately. There are two categories of gazetteers, locational and descriptive.

7. Travel Guides Travel guides are resources (usually books), that provide details about a geographic location and will usually include details, such as phone numbers, addresses, prices, and reviews of hotels and other lodgings restaurants, and activities.

8. Electronic Map Products Electronic versions of all types of geographical sources are becoming increasingly available. Often these products are available at low to no cost to the user. Libraries are using electronic products to supplement, or in some cases replace traditional resources. Most online geographic tools are updated often and require less maintenance. In the past, they have not been as detailed as print materials, but this is improving with the development of new technologies.

9. Unique Evaluation Criteria For Geographical Sources

10. Scale Scale is important because it defines the amount of information that can be shown and the size of the geographic area. Quality maps and atlases will always identify the scale. It can be expressed verbally, as a ratio, a fraction, or as a bar scale. Scale is the ratio of the distance on a map to the distance on the surface of the Earth.

11. Projection A projected image will always contain some level of distortion. It is important that users be aware of the unavoidable differences that result from projection. When a spherical globe is drawn on a flat surface, it is being projected

12. Colors and Symbols Colors can be used to signify borders, topography, population or a number of other features. Effective use of color is necessary to create an easily understandable map. Symbols are used to communicate information about features within the area of the map. It is important that the number of symbols is appropriate for the scale of the map. Too many symbols can result in a cluttered, difficult to understand map.

13. Publisher & Indexing The publisher/authority is important to consider when evaluating geographical sources. Maps produced by government agencies tend to be high quality and low cost. Librarians should purchase their materials from reputable, established dealers. A good index is essential to geographical sources. The index should contain all the place names and geographical features listed on the map. It should also provide the coordinates and page numbers for locating information.

14. Currency There is also the issue of currency. Depending on their focus, geographical sources can be rendered misleading and inaccurate by simple, unpredictable events. While out of date materials can be useful in answering historical geography questions, current geographical information is an essential component of a library’s reference collection.

15. Examples of Geographic Sources

16. Sea levels Phases of the Moon Natural disasters Dictionary of Middle Ages Timetables of Jewish History Cold War Guide to Ancient World Who lived Where in Europe Amusement park Guide Living Overseas Smart packing for today’s travel Best places to retire

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