The Geography and Map Division and the Library of Congress have robust digital scan labs that are constantly working to make our collections more accessible. As has become tradition (see previous Year in Review posts), to celebrate the end of a year and to ring in the new, I will take a look back at the maps that were digitized last year which are now available online and choose just a few to share with you!
Our team has several large ongoing scanning projects, one of which is the scanning of maps in our single map title collection. The title collection consists of single sheet maps that were received by the Geography and Map Division before the advent of machine-readable cataloging in 1968, and have been cataloged at a collection level instead of an individual sheet level. The maps are filed by geographic location and constitute the bulk of the single-sheet maps at the Library. In an effort to make these maps more accessible, the title collection maps are being scanned and made available online. As an example of the interesting maps that can be found in this collection, the map below is from a drawer of maps on various subjects in California. Published in 1910 by the Los Angeles Examiner, it shows in striking color the different types of agricultural land and residence tracts in southern California.