Historical Maps Online
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Date
2005-01-31
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ALA Map and Geography Round Table
Abstract
For 20 years, David Rumsey assembled a collection of more than 150,000 historical maps of the Americas and the world. Motivated by a desire to make his private map collection a free public resource, Rumsey then created an online map library, http://www.davidrumsey.com/, which currently has over 10,000 high resolution images of maps from his collection. He has also built a suite of tools for users to experience and interpret the maps online. These include GIS, which allows users to combine historical maps with modern geospatial data to see change over time. The online map collection can be accessed over the Internet from search engines, library catalogs, GIS databases and many other entry points. Rumsey continues to add new content to the online collection and develops new tools that improve both the user experience and the online library architecture.
Description
Originally published: "Tales from the Vault: Historical Maps Online" by David Rumsey, Vol 3: No. 4, July 2003, of Common-place. Reprinted, updated and revised, with permission of Common-place.
Keywords
historical maps, GIS, online libraries, Luna Imaging, Insight, North America, South America, atlases, globes, school geographies