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Dear J.P,
The library has refused to give us an official policy on meeting for quite some
time.
We have asked for many months.
We have been told piece meal that we couldn't talk about upcoming events,
nor ask members to join our group.
If a group that only benefits the library and is directly related to a current
division at the library can't meet at the library, then no group should be
allowed to meet at a public institution, no? There are many of us who have
belonged to both the Mercator Society and the NY Map Society. We have helped
promote exhibitions and have organized events to promote their work, along with
making the map world aware of events at the library. The Map Society has
donated money to the library, along with individual members.
We have tried to make their job easier by going a year at a time ONLY asking
for meeting space.
That's it. No request for viewing maps, holding conferences or anything above
that request.
On top of that we have suggested ways for the library to make money using us.
Suggestions that have been looked over by two people who specialize in the
restructuring of corporations who told me the library would be "crazy" to not
implement.
The library ignored our suggestions.
For example, we suggested that they hold a conference that the map society
would help organize and run for free, and the library could keep any amount of
money they made for the event.
Does that sound like we were in their way?
We have also been there for grad students, heads of other map divisions,
Museums both in NYC and South America and heads of archives both in the US,
Germany, and London, when their questions weren't being answered by the library.
Oh and several authors. Toby Lester, Barnet Schecter and Chet Van Duzer to name
a few.
I have turned down job offers from three map dealers, including Graham Aradar,
to devote time solely to the map society and mapping in New York. I have helped
collectors gain access to view the maps at St.Catherine's Monastery in the
Sanai Peninsula, and to the Dresden Codex. I've reviewed Ron Grimm's paper on
map theft for the History of Cartography project, and helped numerous authors,
grad students, librarians, dealers, and advised collectors as to which map
dealer might be best suited for their collections.
(Kevin Brown, of Geographicus Maps payed me in coffee when someone purchased a
map from him on my advice. Perfect.)
Those of you who belong to the WMS know that I've helped organize field trips
with both of our map societies for the past few years. The last one to
Princeton can be read about in the Portolan.
Several of us from the map society have been asked to help the Museum of
Natural History on map related events.
Our Vice President lectures on Darwin and the Galapagos Islands on what
National Geographic has rated as the best small cruise.
Board member, educator, and map maker, Connie Brown's maps have hung in the
White House an printed up in numerous publications.
Google maps have asked me to present them with a proposal for an International
Map Society.
The only place the map society has not been welcome is the NYPL.
God bless them and good luck with whatever they are trying to accomplish as we
have no idea.
The NYPL has never held a major map conference, something I've wanted to do for
years.
I was hoping that would happen at the library, but that's not to be.
I am quite sure Matt Knutzen and Kate's jobs are difficult and on all sides I
truly believe we have all tried to
be as accommodating as possible within the constraints provided. I do not envy
them and the difficult job they must have. I do look forward to see what Matt
can do, since he is both young, tech savvy and amicable.
In the meantime, we do need a need a new home. We do not have to meet at the
same place all the time and we do make field trips. Graham has already offered
us meeting space and perhaps we can work something out with the Museum of
Natural History or other map dealers and collectors.
Even holding a salon at a collectors house in New York City would be welcome.
I would also like to hold an Open House of sorts for map dealers in the city
and will write more on that later.
At this point, a map fair in New York would be quite expensive and difficult to
schedule in.
I think printing up a walking guide to map dealer galleries, similar to art
dealers guides would be great and open up the world of mapping in New York more
to the general public.
Our relationship with the NYPL has come to an end, but the Map Society is
filled with dedicated passionate individuals and we will continue.
In the meantime, suggestions and contacts for our 8 or 9 meetings a year are
welcome.
Best,
Heather Kinsinger
Board member,
NY Map Society
[MapHist] NYPL policy
J. B. Post jbpost2 at verizon.net
Sat Jul 9 19:03:43 CEST 2011
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As a former librarian, I have had to contend with policies on
meetings and they always have not been consistent. The New York Map
Society is an "outside" group. I trust the Mercator Society which is
sort of a "friends" group for the Map Division, will be allowed to meet
as before. Libraries are beset with something akin to political
correctness and can't be seen playing favorites so the simplest answer
is to not allow outside groups at all. Different libraries have
different policies and enforced with varying diligence at different
times. It would be instructive to learn the background for this ruling.
Was another group a problem leading to avoiding outside groups
altogether? Did the administration suddenly discover that the NYMS was
an outside organization and not part of the Map Division? Was a new
person put in the position to make this decision?
It might be instructive for other institutions (or the map folk
therein) to note meeting policies and how this effects local map groups.
"You can take the boy away from the maps, but you can't take the maps
away from the boy."
JBP
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