b. Dec. 27, 1941, Sioux Lookout, ON; d. Apr. 27, 2018, Ottawa, ON

Teaching Certificate (Western University)
1973 MLS (Western University)

High school teacher, Timmins, ON
Cataloguer, University of Ottawa Library
1980?-2004 Subject Specialist, Head of Cataloguing, Standards Officer, Map Division, Library and Archives Canada

Parker, Velma, Hugo L.P. Stibbe and Vivien Cartmell, eds. (1982). Cartographic materials: a manual of interpretation for AACR2. Chicago: American Library Association.

Parker, Velma (1986-1988). Cartographic Cataloguer’s Newsletter 1-3. Ottawa: National Map Collection. (no. 4- issued as part of ACML Bulletin).

Parker, Velma (1987). “Report on the Canadian Committee on Cataloguing meeting October 20, 1987.” ACML Bulletin 65 (1987): 36.

Parker, Velma (1988). “Canadian Committee on Cataloguing meeting February 19, 1988.” ACML Bulletin 66 (1988): 23.

Parker, Velma (1988). “Report of the meeting of the Canadian Committee on Cataloguing, Hull Quebec, March 10, 1988.” ACML Bulletin 71 (1988): 38-39.

Parker, Velma (1988). “Computer cataloguing with specific reference to archival cartographic material in the National Archives of Canada.” ACML Bulletin 69 (1988): 7-9.

Parker, Velma (1990). “Canadian Committee on Cataloguing meeting February 16, 1990.” ACML Bulletin 74 (1990): 26-27.

Parker, Velma (1990). “Report on the meeting of the Canadian Committee on Cataloguing August 13, 1990.” ACMLA Bulletin 77 (1990): 27-29.

Parker, Velma (1991). “Canadian Committee on Cataloguing April 5, 1991.” ACMLA Bulletin 79 (1991): 28-30.

Parker, Velma (1992). “Canadian Committee on Cataloguing September 11, 1992, Hull, Quebec.” ACMLA Bulletin 84 (1992): 37-38.

Parker, Velma (1994). “Canadian Committee on Cataloguing meeting February 11, 1994, Hull, Quebec.” ACMLA Bulletin 90 (1994): 31-32.

Parker, Velma (1994). Geomatic data sets cataloguing rules. Ottawa: Canadian General Standards Board.

Parker, Velma and Grace Welch (1996). “Geomatics cataloguing.” ACMLA Bulletin 97 (1996): 1-6.

Parker, Velma (1997). “Revision to classification for atlases of Canada.” ACMLA Bulletin 99 (1997): 1, 7.

Parker, Velma (1997). “MARC harmonization in relation to cartographic materials.” ACMLA Bulletin 99 (1997): 2-6.

Parker, Velma (1997). “Report on the meeting of the Canadian Committee on Cataloguing Sept. 19, 1997, Hull, Quebec.” ACMLA Bulletin 99 (1997): 8-10.

Parker, Velma (1998). “Report of the meeting of the Canadian Committee on Cataloguing, September 18, 1998, Hull Quebec.” ACMLA Bulletin 103 (1998): 44-45.

Parker, Velma (1999). “Report on the Canadian Committee on Cataloguing meeting September 17, 1999.” ACMLA Bulletin 106 (1999): 76-78.

Parker, Velma (1999). “Cataloging map series and serials.” Cataloging and Classification Quarterly 27, no. 1-2: 65-101.

Parker, Velma (1999). “MARC tags for cataloging cartographic materials.” Cataloging and Classification Quarterly 27, no.1-2: 5-8.

Parker, Velma (2000). “Report of the Canadian Committee on Cataloguing meeting June 9, 2000.” ACMLA Bulletin 108 (2000): 68-70.

Parker, Velma, Grace Welch and Mary Larsgaard (2001). “Report on the Cataloguing Workshop on Digital Cartographic Material, Edmonton, Alberta, May 2000.” ACMLA Bulletin 110 (2001): 8-21.

Parker, Velma (2002). “Recent Canadian name changes.” ACMLA Bulletin 113 (2002): 12-16.

Parker, Velma (2002). “Report on the Canadian Committee on Cataloguing meeting September 21, 2001, National Library of Canada, Hull Quebec.” ACMLA Bulletin 113 (2002): 51-52.

Parker, Velma et al. (2002). Map cataloging: learning to describe cartographic materials. Chicago: Association for Library Collections & Technical Service (ALCTS).

Parker, Velma (2003). “Cataloguing notes from the Bibliographic Control Committee.” ACMLA Bulletin 116 (2003): 37-39.

Parker, Velma (2003). “Report on the meeting of the Canadian Committee on Cataloguing March 14, 2003, Gatineau (Hull), Quebec.” ACMLA Bulletin 116 (2003): 58.

Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives (ACMLA), Treasurer, 1983-1991
ACMLA Bibliographic Control Committee (formerly Canadian Committee for Bibliographic Control of Cartographic Materials)
Canadian Committee on Cataloguing (CCC)
Anglo-American Cataloguing Committee for Cartographic Material
Inter-Agency Committee on Geomatics, Editor-in-chief of geomatic data sets cataloguing rules, 1994
Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) Working Group on Cataloguing Standards for Geomatics

2001 ACMLA Honours Award

“Velma was instrumental in the development of regulatory standards, codes and cataloguing methods, working on both the National and International Standards Committees. She was known among her peers for expertise in cataloguing and description.”
Velma’s work in cataloguing, metadata and Dublin Core “made her the key person in Canada to consult on the interpretation of cataloguing rules for maps and geographic data.”
Some of Velma’s achievements at Library and Archives Canada included “working on the harmonization of CANMARC and USMARC fixed field codes for cartographic material, and working with the National Library committee to add maps to the Canadiana CD-ROM [and AMICUS]. She also worked on the rules for archival description.”
Throughout her career, Velma presented numerous workshops on cataloguing maps in general, early cartographic material and geomatic datasets. Colleagues respected her “great attention to detail, the terrific work put into the first edition of Cartographic Materials: a manual of interpretation for AACR2 and her work on the revision of the LC “G” Classification section for Canada.”
Velma was also involved in editing Cartographic Materials: a manual of interpretation for AACR2 (2002 revision).

Velma Parker obituary. Ottawa Citizen, May 9, 2018.
ACMLA Bulletin 111 (2001): 55.