First approaches to the usability of Digital Map Libraries

2012 18th International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia, 2012

The paper describes the results of the project "Atl@nte dei Catasti Storici e delle carte Topografiche della Lombardia" (Atlas of historical cadastre and topographic maps of Lombardy) and in particular the potentials of an open source platform for cartographic heritage, developed as one of the main deliverables. The value of this research is of twofold nature. On one hand side, it regards cartography as heritage addressed not only to experts but to society and general public, as argued by International Working Group on "Digital Technologies in Cartographic Heritage": the project queries methodologies for systematic information structure, geo-referencing and representation of historic maps given their artistic-historic as well as technical-cartographic nature. On the other side, the research investigates how innovative geo-portal tools could be used to promote a progressive use of historic maps during territorial planning processes. The analysis of landscape transformations rely increasingly upon integrated services based on geospatial information, creating a progressive demand of data sets and service and aiming at an extensive availability of these information to different final users. To this purpose, it is necessary to consider different domains of technological progress but also an appropriate territorial dimension, applying a multiscale approach in an SDI framework. Geo-referenced maps of Atl@nte at territorial-regional and cadastral-local scale could be further integrated with data such as satellite, multi-spectral airborne and in-situ UAV images, to address actions on built environment and to provide new scenarios for retrieving geospatial knowledge of territory and its multiple layers of history.

2012

Over the last thirty years, map libraries worldwide have scanned some hundreds of thousands of historical maps from their collections, and most are viewable online via the worldwide web. However, maps remain difficult to access because they are individually hard to find: a user needing a map of a given location needs to know which library or libraries to search, and library search interfaces generally require knowledge of map titles: there has been no "Google for old maps". We review previous attempts to create such a federated search portal and then explain how our new portal at www.oldmapsonline.org differs. One feature of our approach is that we prioritize rapidly achieving critical masses of content and usage over long-term sustainability. This means that we are assembling metadata from map collections essentially manually, maximizing the number of libraries who can participate. One longer term aim is to encourage use of sustainable web addresses for historical maps, Universal Resource Identifiers rather than URLs, which do not contain references to particular pieces of software, or reflect particular transitory arrangements of library web sites. A second long term aim is not to create a specialized automated metadata harvesting system for maps, but to ensure that the systems which major libraries are anyway putting in place for their overall collections do include the spatial coordinates needed to make content geographically discoverable.

2007

There are several cooperative projects aiming at the widespread distribution of historical cartographic funds in the Web through geographic localization tools, engaging various national and international institutions. It is the case of the AfriTerra Project [1], the DHM-Digital Historical Map European Project [2] and the Digital Library of Portuguese Urban Cartography [3].

In terms of preserving our digital cartographic heritage, the last quarter of the 20th century has some similarities to the dark ages. In many cases, only fragments or written descriptions of the digital maps exist. In other cases, the original data have disappeared or can no longer be accessed due to changes in technical procedures and tools. Where data has not been lost, as with the Canada Land Inventory, the cost of recovery has been high. Based on experience gained through participation in a major research project focused on preservation, the development of several digital cartographic frameworks, systems and artifacts (e.g. Maps and atlases), multidisciplinary work with archivists, data preservationists, data librarians, public officials and private sector cartographers, the authors discuss possible strategies toward the preservation of maps, geospatial data, and associated technologies -cartographic heritage. The chapter concludes with an overview of some of the questions and research opportunities that are emerging from the discussion.

J-READING JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND DIDACTICS IN GEOGRAPHY, 2019

This paper is a step of a research project aiming at analyzing in an empirical, user-oriented perspective the perception of how online geographical tools impact on geographical research. In details, the article focuses on recently developed web tools in the field of history of cartography and outlines the implications, in terms of limits and potentialities, of digital cartography at an academical level. In such analysis, the paper also dwells on participatory tools and digital earth models as tools for history of cartography. For this purpose , the paper analyses the results of a survey conducted by asking academic scholars in history of cartog-raphy their perception of the limits and potentialities of recently developed tools. What emerges from the research is a widespread perception of a series of potentialities and at the same time a consciousness of many critical issues, especially for what concerns participative tools and GeoWeb resources. Digital tools have profoundly modified academic research, becoming in some aspects tools for its enhancement. Nevertheless , their undisputed merit is that they have drawn the attention of a wider public, albeit through messages that are sometimes misleading, to the map as a means of communication.

NOVATEUR PUBLICATIONS , 2020

The article describes in detail the features of digital mapping and its current role in society. The research and analysis of analog mapping with digital. All previous and present possibilities of various methods of building maps are compared, including the economic component of market efficiency. INTRODUCTION The beginning of digital cartography can be counted from one thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven. This year the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) produced the first digital model of the terrain and terrain of the map, which was later used for designing roads. This indicates that in the cartography from the mid-twentieth century, new technological card-making and card-publishing processes and methods began to develop, which are being improved to date. The main areas and trends of improvement in them can be identified:  technological (electronic) methods for creating maps;  digital ways of organizing banks and databases;  technologies of geographic information mapping;  formation of cards in computer networks;  development of virtual mapping. For more effective application of scientific and technological processes for the development of cartography, the fastest delivery of the products created by it to the end user is required. Then they will be quickly used by consumers to solve their specific problems. In modern realities, all research and production sectors, including digital cartography , are oriented toward satisfying such requests and the needs of society. Thus, with the help of digital technologies, cartography is transformed from cognitive and simply means of orientation into mathematical tools and methods of design, organization, management and planning. It is already obvious that technological advances have influenced the use of maps, of which we highlight the following:  communication methods;  spatial information;  system decision making.

feweb.vu.nl

This paper describes the setup of a thematic Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) for cultural heritage data. Unlocking this data using OGC web services like the Web Feature Service (WFS) and the Web Map Service (WMS) creates a variety of possibilities. It allows to embed interactive maps in touristic web applications and to use the data in management or analyses tools. To implement such a SDI in different European cities, the SDI must be able to adapt to local legislation and customs. Different data sources can be added to the SDI depending on local available data sets. The implementation of the SDI in 3 case study cities illustrates the challenges that this SDI has to face.

Old Maps Online is an online search tool for historical maps. It uniquely draws together map collections from libraries around the world into a single, easy to use search interface. Using cutting edge technology the user searches for old maps by location, narrowed by date, rather than through more traditional catalogue listings. Following a successful early launch in February 2012 its popularity has grown continuously. We have delivered large benefits to end users, but this project, and the two conferences it organized, have also succeeded in raising awareness of the importance of spatial metadata for historical maps within the libraries world.

plone.itc.nl

The use of computerized information is a growing part of our society; people use geographic, social, economic, political and environmental information to answer practical questions. Information mining and sharing is therefore of crucial importance: drawings, photographs, documents and surveys information enhance the understanding of resources; map positioning offers a new way to examine resources not only individually but also in relationship to each other. GIS technology is very useful because it offers a powerful set of tools for collecting, storing, analyzing and visualizing spatial data. Finally, publishing GIS on the Internet makes it possible to share information with a large amount of people, thus enhancing the exploitation of resources. The system developed in our Institute is intended to explore such potentialities in the field of cultural heritage; the prototype is based on SQL-server for data and DbMAP ASJ for cartographic publication and data query over the Internet; the extensive use of codes makes the system very flexible.