There are some maps that, at first look (or second, or one-hundredth), seem to offer more questions than answers. It can surely be said that the map of nationalities in New York City, part of a series of maps from the Tenement House Committee of 1894, is one such curiosity. Looking closer at its historical …
The Library of Congress is proud to celebrate GIS Day on Wednesday, November 13th with a showcase event: In the Shadows of Notre Dame: Geographic Information Science, 3D Mapping and Cultural Heritage Preservation. The all-day series of discussions will be held from 8:30am to 3:30pm in Room LJ-119 on the first floor of the Thomas …
Los Angeles is world famous for its sunny beaches and Hollywood glamour, but did you know that the California metropolis has a long history as a booming oil city? At both large and small scales, maps help tell the stories of this often forgotten part of the Los Angeles’s past and present. The first commercially …
The latest Story Maps from the Library of Congress detail some of the fascinating adventures and technological innovations of early photography! Story Maps are immersive, interactive web applications that showcase the incredible stories of Library of Congress collections through text, images, multimedia, and interactive maps. You can find all Library of Congress Story Maps at …
The Library of Congress is proud to celebrate GIS Day on Wednesday, November 14th, with a morning of engaging talks and discussions on the theme of “GIS in K-12 Education: from Data to STEM.” We are pleased to feature Representative Bruce Westerman (AR-4), who will speak about the Geospatial Data Act and the role of …
Matthew Fontaine Maury has been hailed as, among other names, the “Scientist of the Seas” for his contributions to understanding ocean navigation in the mid-19th century. His expertise is evident in his large body of work, and particularly in his maps. But while Maury left an indelible mark on the fields of oceanography and geography …
The following post is by Kim Edwin, a library technician in the Geography and Map Division. Since coming to the Washington, D.C. area and joining the Geography and Map Division, I have enjoyed learning about the early history of our nation’s capital through maps and place names. In studying maps from the city’s early years …
The Library of Congress staff is excited to launch Story Maps, interactive and immersive web applications that tell the incredible stories of the Library’s collections! Story Maps, created within a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based software platform created by Esri, combine text, images, multimedia, and interactive maps to create engaging online narrative experiences. Under a program …
For over one hundred years, the Panama Canal has been a world-renowned marvel of engineering, creating a vital shipping link between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. But at the turn of the 20th century, if it were not for some eleventh hour political maneuvering, and perhaps a very persuasive postage stamp, perhaps the famous canal …