The By the People crowdsourced transcription program invites volunteers to transcribe and review texts from the Library of Congress digital collections. The first Geography and Map transcription project is now live, with volunteers about to transcribe information from the Revolutionary War era Atlantic Neptune nautical charts. Learn more about the project and these maps.
Delve into Dr. George F. Jenks and the Kansas Industrial Development Commission’s 1952 atlas, “A Kansas Atlas,” which showcases Jenks’ innovative approaches to thematic cartography. Today, Jenks is widely known for developing the “Natural Breaks (Jenks)” classification system commonly used in modern GIS software.
This blog promotes the upcoming virtual orientation on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 at 3:00pm (ET) to discover some of our many collection materials related to the 250th anniversary of the United States. In celebration of this milestone, learn about our A250-themed partnership with the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS).
This blog series explores the extremes of the planet. This post discusses the places with the coldest temperatures on Earth, both the uninhabited areas of Antarctica and the coldest inhabited places in Russia.
Fire insurance maps reveal a lot about the industrial history of cities and towns of any size. Sanborn fire insurance maps of a particular Mississippi Delta town in 1925 reveal an economy based around the harvesting, refining, and transportation of cotton. These maps also hint at the life and work of the Black community in the Delta that made this economy possible, as well as some of the many achievements of that town’s community over the 20th century.
The Philip Lee Phillips Society Fellowship is open to applicants for the 2027 term. Learn more about this unique fellowship opportunity as well as our 2026 Fellows, Dr. Edward Blum and Dr. Laurent Dubois.
It took centuries for European maps to accurately portray the route of Africa's third-longest river. Does its delta lie in Egypt, Senegal, or Nigeria - or could there even be two?
John Ross, a British naval officer led three Arctic expeditions. In 1818 and 1829, he led expeditions to find the Northwest Passage. In 1850, he led a rescue mission to find survivors from Sir John Franklin's lost expedition. This post features maps related to John Ross's Arctic explorations.
