Thank you to all that replied. In this e-mail will I quickly summarize the responses for the list. For those interested in reading the actual responses, I have attached the comments I received.
First and foremost, you will not be surprised to learn that librarians are a very resourceful group. Below is a result of the various softwares or methods employed:
AutoCAD 1
Photshop 2
SmartDraw 2
Visio 6
Dreamweaver 1
FloorPlanPlus 1
Claris Draw 1
Macromedia FreeHand 1
PowerPoint 4
Publisher 3
Word 2
Fireworks 1
Scan & adapt blueprint 1
(FreeWare)
OpenOffice
InkScape
Microsoft’s Visio and PowerPoint were the most widely used programs. Thank you to all that sent examples. I have attached excellent xamples of both. Visio allows for more options and more precision; however, I was surprised that PowerPoint could be used to create decent maps. While not as precise, it does have the advantage that we already have PowerPoint whereas we would have to request a Visio license.
With that said, we haven’t made a final decision, but we will begin by converting our Illustrator maps into Photoshop to determine its adaptability, and*alternatively-- experimenting with SnagIt to create new maps. While I did not receive any comments about SnagIt, I have used it before to create simple maps and now will try to create more detailed oriented maps. Finally, I will also examine the Freeware options listed above.
Regards,
Brian van Pottelsberghe
Reference and Publications Librarian
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Thomas E. Brennan Law Library
300 South Capitol Ave
Post Office Box 13038
Lansing, MI 48901
Ph: 517-371-5140 ext. 3309
Fax: 517-334-5715
vanpottb@cooley.edu
www.cooley.edu/library
>>> "Brian Van Pottelsberghe" <vanpottb@cooley.edu> 03/01/06 4:51 PM >>>
Greetings,
In my first post to lawlib I would be interested in discovering which software my fellow librarians have found to be effective in creating and editing detailed library maps. In the past we have used Adobe Illustrator, but this is no longer an option.
Is there a freeware program that some of you have tried and recommend?
We are also examining the ability to create maps in Publisher, Visio and AutoCAD and were interested if others would recommend either of these options?
If there is interest by others, I will post anonymous results.
Regards,
Brian van Pottelsberghe
Reference and Publications Librarian
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Thomas E. Brennan Law Library
300 South Capitol Ave
Post Office Box 13038
Lansing, MI 48901
Ph: 517-371-5140 ext. 3309
Fax: 517-334-5715
vanpottb@cooley.edu
www.cooley.edu/library
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