October 29, 2024

Maps, Yeah Yeah Yeah

Okay, so we aren’t talking about the resurgence of the 2003 song, “Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but that would make for a fascinating research project on music history. We are talking about actual, physical maps! Thousands of them! Did you know – the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Division’s Rare Map Collection includes maps from the sixteenth to early twentieth centuries covering the world, Western and Eastern Hemispheres, continents, countries and cities along with maps that document exploration of North America and the Pacific Northwest region from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries?  But that’s not all – the UW Libraries’ Government Publications, Maps, Microforms & Newspapers Collection unit (GMM) holds many more modern maps that you can use on site, or find online. Over this academic year, the team is embarking on a new project to assess a backlog of maps waiting to be cataloged for public use.

Since June 2024, the team has assessed more than 5,000 maps in the archives, but there is more to do.

We caught up with Matt Parsons, Geospatial Data & Maps Librarian who is leading this work with other library and student employees.

What types of maps are you finding?

The material in this project consists of primarily print maps, some aerial photography and government documents. We’ve found maps in the backlog dating as far back as the late 1890s. Most of the material is mid-twentieth century, however, geographic representation is global. We are finding a lot of local geographies (Washington State, Puget Sound, King County, etc.). Types of maps include everything from AAA road maps to highly specific thematic maps (harbor line maps, geologic maps, etc.).

A surprising find: there’s a very large collection of tactile/braille maps that are related to the late John Sherman, a former UW Geography professor who retired in 1986. 

Why are maps important to collect, how do students use them?

Students, faculty and researchers from outside UW use our maps for all sorts of research purposes and across disciplines. For example, to learn how city, state and federal lands have changed over time, to study topography of a region, linguistics related to how people communicated at a certain place and time, historical documentation of government and military activity, inputs for GIS projects, to study papermaking of a particular point in time and more–the applications are endless!

How do you tackle such a large amount of material – what’s your process? 

Large scale projects like this require dedicated time above and beyond our standard capacity, as well as dedicated funding. The project is made possible by an allocation of funds from the Dean of Libraries to hire students and a part-time staff person specifically to focus on the project. The students are all from the UW iSchool’s MLIS program and each was interested in gaining some collection development experience and working with unique formats.

There are a number of criteria we use to evaluate each map including duplication within our existing collection, condition of the material, prevalence and/or rarity within OCLC membership and whether or not it fits with our collection scope. All of these factors determine where the map will eventually go. 

Why are there so many maps?

Like all libraries, public and academic, the large volume of materials we take in often outpaces our ability to evaluate, document and properly catalog items as they come to us. With limited resources, it is a constant process of prioritization. This has long been a project we have wanted to tackle, and we are excited to be able to finally do it with the special funding from the Dean.

It is also fulfilling to know that with the right support, we can tackle large-scale projects like this, and it’s never too late to start.

When can we use/find these new maps?

The team will continue working through June 2025 to process as many maps as possible. It can take up to a few weeks to properly catalog, mark and shelve a single map. Some of the maps will go to our GMM collection, some will go to UW Libraries Special Collections and require conservation/preservation intervention, some will be transferred to other institutions. Maps that do not fit the collection criteria will be donated to UW Surplus and in some cases, recycled, depending on condition.

We look forward to sharing an update when the project is completed with links to some of the highlights within the collection. 

Questions? Contact Matt Parsons, Geospatial Data & Maps Librarian: parsonsm@uw.edu

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