Preserving Maps

I. Physical Preservation: Storage, Treatment, Display

This is the most fundamental and traditional role a library carries out with its map collection.  Maps are ideally stored in a temperature and humidity controlled room.  Older maps are often kept within large sleeves of plastic for as an extra precaution when handling the more acidic paper they are often printed upon.  They are never to be rolled, but are instead kept in large sliding drawers allowing them to rest unrolled and flat.  This can often take up a great deal of space and can be very difficult for smaller libraries to accommodate.  The space limitation has been one of the many reasons our library chooses to digitize much of it’s collection and move many of the maps to an off-site storage facility while keeping access to digital representations open and ready for the public.

Older maps (especially recently donated ones) are often in a state of disrepair.  Therefore, the library’s preservation efforts are often employed in treating and restoring damaged materials.  Mold and dirt accumulated from decades of improper storage are cleaned away through wet and dry methods.  Maps that have crumbled apart but still consist of salvageable pieces can be put together again by being reinforced with muslin cloth and adhesives.  Maps that have been rolled for storage and are on the point of breaking apart must be re-humidified before being unrolled and stored.  Such preservations have always been a function the library has performed with its map collection and will undoubtedly continue as the collection ages and older materials are added.

Finally, it’s important that the public see the work being done within the map collection.  Periodic exhibitions of some of the library’s restored or historically significant maps are displayed within the library.  To properly display a map that is being preserved special framing must be employed using glass that protects the exhibited pieces from both light and oxygen damage.  By displaying these items, library users are given the chance to publicly view and appreciate what would normally be a very behind the scenes aspect of the library.  

II. Digital Preservation: Capturing Images, Online Database, Creation of New Data

Digital technologies have done much to change the relationship our library has with its map collection.  Technological advancements in digitization have greatly changed the library’s approach to preservation.  It is no longer enough for our library to simply repair and store the map collection.  The library is now carrying out a complete digitization of it’s map collection.  Because many of our maps are so large and fragile, overhead digital scanners that do not come in contact with the maps are used to create high resolution digital images of each map.  We expect this process will be repeated numerous times as imaging technologies improve.  

By creating digital copies of each map, we not only ensure that images of the maps are preserved, but we are also able to provide the community with a greater access to the map collection.  Patron access to the collection is enhanced through an online database of the maps’ digital images which can be found at the library’s website.  Here users can browse through images of the map collection based upon the maps’ genre, location, and age without being limited to making an appointment with the university’s special collections department.  The creation of our online collection has greatly increased the potential use of the collection giving it greater searchability and not limiting the collection to purely physical dimensions of the area in which they are housed.  

Advances in mapping software have come a long way in this age allowing the information on many of our maps to be used in ways never before imagined.  The library is now cooperating with a number of local businesses and organizations in the creation of new maps based upon the data contained on many of the items in our collection.  Using applications such as GIS software, researchers have been able to combine the data from multiple sources from within our collection and create entirely new maps.  An recent example would be a property assessment project which combined the data from geologic survey maps of the area with property line maps.  The result is a map which layers both sets of information on top of each other allowing for a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between the properties and mineral resources.  This is just one example of the exciting projects that have developed because of the exciting changes that are occurring within the realm of digital preservation.





http://www.pitt.edu/~aeb59/ Pittsburgh map preservation project

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmddigit.html, LOC map digitization.

https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/apps/arc/maps/copies.php TX maps project

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/library_trends/v055/55.2sweetkind-singer.html Geospatial Data