The digital atlas dilemma: Outlining the challenges for libraries

The transition of geographic atlases existing only in paper, or print, form to digital forms has given rise to necessary changes in the map librarianship world regarding collection development, bibliographic control, patron use, and archiving issues. In this article, we will be focusing on atlases in the geographic realm as initiated by Mercator, though atlases in general can have other inherent meanings. We describe the issues that arise from digital atlases and how they impact both the user and the librarian, and we provide a call to arms for anyone charged with collecting, describing, utilizing, storing, or preserving these evolving new types of atlases.