[OSM-talk] It's time to manage libraries properly in OSM

[Christian Rogel]

We are generally aware of the importance of the libraries, as they are numerous and useful by their variety (public, academic, specialized, school…).
But, why they have been so neglected by us, the mappers, seing them on the ground, getting maybe frequently in ?
So poors are the tags for describing them.

Yes, you can add the address, the phone, the opening hours and a few precisions. See ameniy = library <https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:amenity%3Dlibrary>
But, you cannot indicate which public is admitted, if most of the collection is visible, which kind of documents is displayed and/or lended, and so on…

I suggest that every person capable proposes some categorization and enriches the wiki page above. 

From a few hours discussion on the French OSM list, we were looming around using «  library:for = {public targeted} and library_collection.
But, there are more than 2 angles in library and information services.

Note : a map of the libraries in the world <https://librarymap.ifla.org/map> was launched years ago by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), but we do not see any location, the figures per countries only. 
Let us remember the huge number of 2.6 M libraries registered. The French version on Google Map displays 162 locations.

81 500 amenity=library are  present in OSM database today <https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/tags/amenity=library#overview> 20 apr. (5 500 in France). We can reach a richer content.


Christian Rogel
Retired chief librarian (France)

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