| Vol. 25, no. 12-13 | GP 3.16/3-2:25/12-13 | November 15/December 15, 2004 |
Many depository libraries have noted a diminishing number of shipments of USGS maps in recent months. This is caused in part by the U.S. Geological Survey's contracting with the Federal Aviation Administration to print its maps. The FAA, which now does the bulk of the map printing for the U.S. Government, has a large backlog of items to print. Once the FAA has printed the maps, they are sent back to the USGS in Denver for shipping. Distribution by USGS to depositories of the USGS topos and other maps is therefore slowing down.
In addition, the number of USGS geology (thematic) maps has dropped dramatically. The GQ and I series have been discontinued. Also, the MF series has been available exclusively on the web for the last few years and is no longer printed.
GPO is stepping up its efforts to identify and catalog additional online maps and other geospacial online information.