Map and Geospatial Information Round Table (MAGIRT) | The American Library Association Archives

Formation of the Map and Geography Round Table (MAGERT) as a division of the American Library Association was approved by Council on January 24, 1980 (1).  As of June, 2011, MAGERT changed its name to Map and Geospatial Information Round Table (MAGIRT).  Stated in the goals and objectives was that:

. . . the Roundtable addresses not only the immediate practical and procedural problems of cartographic and geographic material curatorship but also encourages scholarly research in areas pertaining to map and geography librarianship (2).

At the organizational meeting held on June 30, 1980, during the American Library Association's Annual Conference, four purposes, a constitution, and by-laws were adopted (3):

1.  To provide a forum for the exchange of ideas by persons working with or interested in map and geography collections.

2.  To provide a forum to increase the availablilty, use, and bibliographic control of map and geography collections.

3.  To increase communication and cooperation between map and geography librarians and other librarians.

4.  To contribute to the improvement of education and training of map and geography librarians (4).

The official voice of the Map and Geography Round Table is"base line;" the purpose of the newsletter is to provide current information on cartographic materials, other publications of interest to map and geography librarians, meetings, related governmental activities and map librarianship" (5).  The Round Table has plans for the production of two further projects: U.S. Map Collection Directory (1985), which is a guide to United States map collection resources, and an Occiasional Series of selected papers from Annual Conference presentations and other sources.  Projected issues are "Mapping the Transmississippi West" (1984) and "Maps in Libraries, a systematic approach to management" (1986) (6).

Sub-Groups:

1-Officers and Executive Board

2-Publications (base line)

30-Publications Committee

1. "Special Announcement: Formation of a Map and Geography Round Table," SLA Geography and Map Division Bulletin 119 (March 1980): p. 65.

2. Ibid.

3. base line, vol. 2, no. 3 supplement 1980, p. 2.

4. ALA Handbook 1983-1984 (Chicago: American Library Association, 1983), p. 156.

5. base line, masthead.

6. ALA Handbook, 1983-84, p. 157.