The Ryhiner Collection - a scientific indexing project
The Map Collection as a Research Site
The Bernese statesman and geographer Johann Friedrich von Ryhiner
(1732-1803) defined maps as being an aid to the further development
of the science of geography. He, therefore, took it upon himself
to establish a respective instrument of research in Berne. In
consequence, Ryhiner assembled a worldwide geographic collection
based on scientific criteria comprising approximately 16,000 maps,
plans and topographical views from the 16th to the 18th century.
In 1867, the Collection was donated to the Municiple Library Berne
as a gift and today counts as one of the most valuable, privately
assembled map collections of the 18th century. It is essential
that this important cultural inheritance be preserved, be made
accessible and be used.
The Indexing Project
Since February 1994, the Collection has been in the process of
being made accessible as the result of a project which is to continue
for four and a half years.
This project includes, in particular, measures for the preservation
of the Collection (restoration, coloured microfilming), as well
as the creation of a database which is to be accessible to the
public.
The project, which is being financed by the Bernese Lottery Fund,
is being carried out as a joint venture between the Institute
of Geography (Prof. Dr. Klaus Aerni) and the Municipal and University
Library Berne (Prof. Dr. Robert Barth) with the advisory support
of the State Archives (Dr. Karl Wälchli). Dr. Thomas Klöti
was appointed to lead the project, assisted by qualified library
staff.
The accession work joins the ranks of similar carto-bibliographic
projects which are currently being carried out, for example, in
Germany. As a result of the bibliothecal, restorative and indexing
work now in progress, a rich source of material is being made
accessible for research.
The Database
A wealth of geographic and culture-historic knowledge is recorded
in the maps, plans and views of the Ryhiner Collection which can
be approached from the most diverse angles.
The accessioning of the Collection is being carried out on "SIBIL”,
that is, in the EDP library catalogue of the Swiss-German Library
Association Basle-Berne (Deutschschweizer Bibliotheksverbund Basel-Bern
- DSV), where the following sections of the Collection have already
been recorded (status as of October 1996): astronomical and world
maps and oceanic charts, as well as Europe, Africa and Australia.
The maps of America and Asia are currently in preparation.
Usage and Stock Preservation
As the existence of the Collection becomes more widely known and
as a result of the listing of the stock, it is inevitable that
usage will increase.
Particular emphasis is, therefore, being placed on the concept
of usage and restoration and it is here that the know-how of the
State Archives Berne and the Association for Paper Restoration
Berne (AGPB - Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Papierrestauration
Bern) can be profited from. The restoration measures are being
carried out in the studio of the Municipal and University Library
Berne. With regard to cultural asset security, a coloured microfilm
of the entire Collection is being made using the Ilfochrome-Micrographic
process. In each case two pictures are being taken. The security
copy will be stored in a security vault and the working copy will
be presented to the user in place of the original map. The selected
procedure is resistant to aging and achieves a colour reproduction
of the highest quality. The microfilm provides a vast store for
information. The photography laboratory Gubler, in Märstetten
has been entrusted with the performance of this procedure as they
have the necessary experience in this field.
The coloured microfilm can also be scanned as an intermediate
copy, thereby making all the variations of the further use of
digital images possible. For clarification of this project we
are currently in contact with the Scientific Photography Lab in
Basle (PD Dr. Rudolf Gschwind).
Publication of Results
Various options, (a printed catalogue, microfiche, CD-ROM etc.,)
are open for the publication of the database, with or without
illustrations. However, this has yet to be realised pending the
outcome of a separate, still to be negotiated finance plan. A
decision as to whether and in which form the database of the Ryhiner
Collection will be published has, as yet, not been made. For the
time being, further technical and financial developments will
be observed and the feasibility, as well as the demand for the
various facilities, investigated.
The following is intended to demonstrate how new network technology
is being applied for the purposes of our indexing project, for
example, how the facilities of Internet are being actively used
for the distribution of results, as well as for the necessary
research in related databases (e.g., IKAR - the database for historic
maps of the German Library Institute DBI).
The Internet
The virtual mobility shows extremely high growth rates. Internet
connects computers and, therefore, also people and their information.
The same "language” is spoken throughout Internet (TCP/IP-Protocol),
and programs for the exchange of files, for the connection to
other computers, for search programs etc., are available. Data
is stored decentrally and the art lies in establishing those linkages
which will provide the required information. The World Wide Web
(WWW), which integrates many of the Internet services on one surface,
is currently experiencing a considerable upward trend. The WWW
is based on hyperlink technology, which means that every word
or picture in a document can, theoretically, be connected to any
other. With a mouse-click on the hyperlink the connection is activated
and the chosen document shown, wherever its location in the world
may be.
The Swiss Academic and Research Network SWITCH, for example, offers
a simple access to Swiss libraries which are represented on the
WWW (URL-Address: <http://www.switch.ch/libraries>. The
dial-in on-line catalogues are listed under the URL-Address: <http://www.switch.ch/libraries/cat-lib.html>.)
With Internet and access to all information available on the network,
it is possible to participate and contribute information personally.
Access to the pages is via the WWW server of the Municipal and
University Library Berne (URL-Address: <http://www.stub.unibe.ch/stub/stub.html>)
or directly with <http://www.stub.unibe.ch/stub/ryhiner/ryhiner.html>.
The Ryhiner Collection Homepage
Since 2nd February 1995, the Ryhiner Collection offers a "mooring”
on the Internet. How did this come about? In the autumn of 1994
we received the first account on the central VMS equipment of
the University of Berne, from the information services. And so
began our voyage of discovery. We also corresponded via e-mail
and subscribed to subject specific, electronically connected discussion
groups for map historians and map librarians (e.g., Maphist, maps-l,
lis-maps, Carta). Whilst navigating around the World Wide Web
(WWW), we also came across several North American map collections.
Further impetus was generated by the conference "Digitale
Karten in Bibliotheken" (Digital Maps in Libraries), which
was organised, in September 1994, by the "Groupe des cartothécaires de LIBER (Ligue Internationale des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche)" at the ETH (Federal University of Technology) in Zürich. We now realised that theory had to be put into practice. A vast amount of EDP know-how was already available at the Municiple and University Library Berne and we also found competent contacts in the information services at the University
of Berne. The groundwork was carried out by Caroline Hablützel,
who familiarised herself with the "Hyper Text Markup Language
(HTML)" and made her newly acquired knowledge available to
us.
The result can be summarised as follows:
The Collection and the project are briefly introduced on the WWW
Homepage. From here further links to information (such as texts
regarding the indexing project, the microfilming and restoration
of the Collection), to the database (Catalogue of the Swiss-German
Library Association Basle-Berne, DSV, digital picture archive
with several examples of scanned maps, index of map originators),
as well as to the personal WWW pages of the project team, are
available. The offer of the Ryhiner Collection is part of a global
network. For this reason links were established to topic related
Homepage providers on the Internet who are, for example, in North
America, in the Netherlands or in Switzerland.
Outlook
In spite of all the Internet euphoria, sight must not be lost
of the many questions (e.g., those regarding the archiving of
digital data) which have as yet not been answered satisfactorily.
Furthermore, due to the rapid succession of new innovations computer
technology is oriented to short periods of use. In contrast, easy
accessibility, manifold possibilities and unlimited usage time,
makes data on paper a valuable and not to be underestimated factor.
This should be taken into consideration when the final decision,
as to whether the database currently in preparation should also
be made available in a printed form, is made.
Thomas Klöti
Ryhiner Project
Last updated: 11/27/1996, Thomas Klöti