In most cases these were discussed with dealers, and it became evident with some titles that the dealer simply does not have the ability to supply a subscription. This is true not only for provincial publications, but also for ones issued in capital cities from NGOs and government agencies. I also had the serial lists reviewed by scholars, social activists, technocrats, NGO researchers, and bookdealers for omissions, titles of less current importance, and ceased titles. These items, ranging from topographic maps to thematic and city maps, often fall outside the normal acquisition channels. With increased environmental concerns and more students travelling to Latin America, we need to improve our holdings of urban mapping and areas of environmental interest, such as national parks, nature preserves, sensitive ecological areas, and river systems.
Private publishing accounts for most city maps.
Several hundred maps were acquired for the Geosciences library. In a number of respects Latin American states are experiencing a revolution in this era of globalization and regionalization. Nevertheless, it is essential to remember that the nation state still holds substantial importance, not only in issues of borders and resources, but also in limiting between states the free movement of peoples as immigrants. Currently based upon countries and traditional disciplines, the trends in research point to interdisciplinary approaches to the problems and issues confronting contemporary Latin America. To ensure adequate coverage of topics and approaches taken by public and private sector agencies, I believe it becomes necessary to approach collections more thematically than in the past, while not losing sight of the importance of the nation-state experience.