The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Arthur H. Robinson Map Library is taking part in a national digital preservation project initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The Map Library’s extensive collection of USGS maps will be scanned in a project focused on documenting and digitally preserving all of the maps produced by the agency since 1879. The USGS and the Robinson Map Library will also work closely with the Library of Congress to ensure proper metadata development standards are implemented during the creation of the digital library of map images.
In addition to the operation at the Robinson Map Library, scanning projects will also take place at the USGS Historical Map Library in Reston, VA, the USGS Branch of Information Services in Denver, CO, and the USGS Cartography and Publishing Program in Madison, WI.
The project at the Robinson Map Library will begin with the scanning of Wisconsin topographic maps at 1:24,000, 1:62,500, 1:100,000, and 1:250,000 scales and will continue with additional topographic maps of interest. Maps within the library’s collection will be scanned on a 54-inch Contex scanner provided by the USGS Cartography and Publishing Program office located in Madison.
For more information on the project, contact Jaime Martindale at (608) 262-1471, or martindale@wisc.edu.