[OHM] Fwd: OCUL releases over 1000 historical maps online

[Rob H Warren]

Perhaps of interest to the readers of this email list.

> From: "Anna St. Onge" <anna.st.onge at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Arcan-l] OCUL releases over 1000 historical maps online
> 
> Hello everyone;
> 
> This announcement from OCUL may be of potential interest to some who
> subscribe to this list.
> 
> best,
> Anna St.Onge
> Archivist, Digital Projects & Outreach
> York University Libraries
> 
> 
> Ontario University Libraries Collaborate to Release Over 1000 Historical
> Maps Online
> 
> *[le message en français suit la version anglaise]*
> 
> *Ontario University Libraries Collaborate to Release Over 1000 Historical
> Maps Online*
> *- April 4, 2017 *
> *[For immediate release] *
> 
> Coinciding with the celebration of Canada?s 150th anniversary and the
> Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) 50th anniversary, Ontario?s
> university libraries are releasing a collection of over 1000 historical
> topographic maps of Ontario. The project highlights Ontario?s rich history
> and changing landscape over the past 100 years, and is evidence of how
> Ontario?s academic libraries continue to play a key role in preserving our
> national and provincial heritage in the digital age.
> 
> The project is a province-wide collaboration, led by the OCUL Geo
> Community, an open forum for the exchange of information relating to maps
> and GIS, to digitize and geocode early topographic maps of Ontario at the
> 1:25000 and 1:63360 scales. The maps were originally produced by the
> Department of National Defence (until 1923: the Department of Militia and
> Defence) and show a variety of both natural and man-made features covering
> towns, cities and their surrounding areas in Ontario, over the period of
> 1906 to 1977. This project represents the single most comprehensive
> digitization project of the early-National Topographic Series map
> collection in Canada.
> 
> Early topographic maps are heavily used by historians and researchers
> interested in examining change over time. The project aims to improve
> access to the maps by making them available online and offering visual
> exploration through the project website <http://ocul.on.ca/topomaps> and in
> the Scholars GeoPortal <http://geo.scholarsportal.info/> platform. There is
> benefit for Ontario?s students in having access to these resources. ?A
> project with the functionality of this one makes discovering the history of
> land use/development in Ontario far more accessible both for researchers
> and as a learning tool for students,? says Ted Wilush, McMaster University
> Bachelor of Commerce graduate, and map enthusiast.
> 
> Researchers and students can explore the maps and compare changes over time
> using the GeoPortal?s map viewer that contains current base map data and a
> transparency slider feature. ?The ability to use layers to compare the same
> (map) sheet from multiple eras against both each other and a modern
> map/satellite image is invaluable?, Ted states.
> 
> Ontario?s university libraries have been working together through OCUL on
> initiatives such as this since 1967. ?Preserving and expanding access to
> the broad research collections held by Ontario?s university libraries is at
> the core of OCUL?s collaboration,? explains Vivian Lewis, OCUL Chair and
> University Librarian at McMaster University.  ?It is exciting to have this
> collection digitized and openly available to the public.? The OCUL Geo
> Community (previously named the OCUL Map Group) formed in 1973 to
> communicate and collaborate on map projects, including a union catalogue of
> topographic maps. Moving forward, the group plans to engage with the larger
> map community in Canada about the project, and identify opportunities to
> build on it to include other maps from this national collection*.*
> 
> ?We hope this is a first step to developing a national framework for map
> digitization in libraries and improving access to these rich historical
> maps for researchers and the public at-large,? states Lewis. In 2017, OCUL
> is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and this project demonstrates the
> ongoing success of this collaboration.
> 
> For more information about OCUL?s Historical Topographic Map Digitization
> Project visithttp://ocul.on.ca/topomaps
> 
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