Don’t forget – the next General Meeting on 11 April 2015 (14h00)

Our guest speaker at the next General Meeting on 11 April 2015  will be Maggie Patton on “The known world in Richard’s time: maps and exploration in 15th Century”.

Maggie started her career at Sutherland Public Library in the early 1980s and moved to the State Library of New South Wales in 1990 as a reference librarian where she helped implement the online information service and in 2006 shifted from managing reference services to developing online exhibitions, public programs and digitisation projects. In 2009 she was appointed to Head of the Maps Section where she was able to combine her love of rare books with maps. She feels that both represent a slice of history, such as the political times, scientific era and social world in which they were created.

Maggie comments “An increasingly important but exciting challenge for map collections is the opportunity to promote and encourage use by the general public and researchers. In this area maps do have an advantage as they are both visual and historical. I have an unofficial criterion that all exhibitions developed at the State Library must include at least one map – if not an entire gallery! A surprising challenge for map collections is the general apprehension felt by clients, librarians and colleagues around finding and working with maps. Maps are just another form of information – nothing to be scared about!”

Come along and hear about maps from Richard’s day.

Tags: Maps, NSW Branch