community leveraging of archive map data: cooperative opportunities to build on the wealth of...

Community Leveraging of Archive Map Data

Cooperative Opportunities to Build on the Wealth ofDigitized Historical Maps in National and Regional Archives

- or -

A Next Step in Archival Cooperation on Cadastral Maps?

Jay Osborn, Digital Cartography CoordinatorGesher Galicia, Inc.

ICARUS 15 - April 2015 - Prague

Outline: 25 slides in ~15 minutes● progress of the ICARUS Cadastral Maps Network

● some remaining work and issues

● a proposal and some opportunities

● discussion

Defunct settlement of Rudawka, Ukraine; sources:Archiwum Państwowe w Przemyślu, syg. 56.126.1427MArchiwum Państwowe w Rzeszowie, syg. 59.1313.2632

ICARUS 15, April 2015: Community Leveraging of Archive Map Data: Jay Osborn, Gesher Galicia Slide 2

Progress of the ICARUS Cadastral Maps Network(archives working separately and together)

√ establish a network of institutions

√ collect and analyze information about cadastral maps

√ demonstrate best practice in digitization and online availability

√ integrate already existing digital content on European portals

√ design a follow-up project creating a central European platformof digital cadastral documents - enabling the 'virtual walk'

→ progress varies by country and archive

* but there is more: the archival network progress has alsoenabled or advanced research and work by individuals and other,non-governmental institutions


Example: PolandCadastral Map Sheets Online and Available for Purchase

Town of Sokołów Małopolskie, Poland, 1853; source: skany.przemysl.ap.gov.pl, syg. 56.126.1561M


Example: CroatiaCadastral Maps Georeferenced as Mosaics in Online Tools

Town of Glina, Croatia; source: mapire.eu, Croatian Cadastral Maps, Zagrebačka županija


Example: Czech RepublicCadastral Map Sheets Online and Available for Purchase

Village of Poldolí I, Bohemia, 1828; source: ČÚZK, http://archivnimapy.cuzk.cz, map c5923-1


Example: Czech RepublicIndikationskizzen Assembled Online

Village of Poldolí I, Bohemia, 1828; source: Národní archiv, http://archivnimapy.cuzk.cz, map c5923-1


Example: Czech RepublicCadastral Maps Georeferenced as Layers in Online Tools

Village of Bohuňov, Moravia, 1826; source: Národní archiv, http://archivnimapy.cuzk.cz, map m0136-1


Example: Leveraging the Archives' WorkCadastral Maps Assembled for Historical/Genealogical Research

Town of Głogów, Poland; sources: skany.przemysl.ap.gov.pl, syg. 56.126.442M; maps.geshergalicia.org,Cadastral Maps, Głogów 1849


Of course there is still work to be done...

● not all archives holding cadastral maps are digitizing yet

● at archives which are digitizing, not all maps are covered indigitizing plans yet

● archive resources to support the project are understandablylimited

● network coordination between archives is still developing

● researching digitized maps still requires contacting eacharchive separately, using different tools, rules, and formats

● systematic georeferencing is not yet a priority within thenetwork

...and of course I am NOT complaining!

...and of course these things take time...


Not All Archives Are Participating, Yet

City of L'viv (Lemberg, Lwów), Ukraine; source: maps.geshergalicia.org, Cadastral Maps, Lemberg 1849


Not All Paper Maps Are Digitized, Yet

Village of Kuklík, Moravia; source: Český úřad zeměměřický a katastrální, UÁZK syg. 1418-1, 1835 & 1873


Some Map Sheets Are Lost or Damaged

Town of Przemyśl, Poland; source: maps.geshergalicia.org, Cadastral Maps, Przemyśl 1852


Town of Przemyśl, Poland, 1852; source: Archiwum Państwowe w Rzeszowie, syg. 59.1313.3021

Overall Coordination of Projects Still In Development


Archive Workload vs. Resources: It Takes Time

Progress of georeferenced cadastral maps toward Kuklík, Moravia; source: ČÚZK, http://archivnimapy.cuzk.cz


And It's Not Easy: Georeferencing Difficulties(errors in survey, mapping, paper decay, scanning, ...)

City of Budapest, Hungary; source: mapire.eu, Hungarian Cadastral Maps, Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun megye


While the Work Continues... Now is the Time to Think About the Next Challenge:

Making the Maps a Foundation on Which to Build


Town of Rohatyn, Ukraine, cadastral map 1846; sources: TsDIAL, L'viv, Ukraine, syg. 186.1.668; Rohatyn Shtetl Research Group,House Finder http://www.rsrg.org/rohatyn/map/hnl/hnl.html (work in progress)

GreatSynagogue:One of fve known synagogues inRohatyn, the "Great Synagogue"was frst built of wood in the ...

A few quotations:

Old paper maps constitute the bedrock of historical GIS.

- from "Teaching with GIS", by Robert Churchill and Amy Hillier, in Placing History, ESRI Press,Redlands California, 2008.

Tremendous opportunities await historical researchers because relatively fewhistorical subjects have been examined from a geographical perspective.

Although researchers are now trying to avoid duplicating one another's labor-intensive efforts in building infrastructure, it remains difficult to choose betweenproject-specific investments in base layers versus building geospatial datasets foruse by the larger scholarly community.

[D]eveloping geospatial data infrastructure for history requires collaborationbetween institutions that hold primary historical source material.

It is impractical to assume that all historians practicing HGIS will have the time orthe resources to collect their own geospatial data and create their own GISdatabases. For this reason, it is essential that shared infrastructure enable large-scale GIS data collection, the preservation and maintenance of GIS databases, andaccess to historical geospatial data via Internet-based resources.

- from "An Agenda for Historical GIS", by Anne Kelly Knowles, Amy Hillier, and Roberta Balstad, inPlacing History, ESRI Press, Redlands California, 2008.


A Modest Proposal...

● that the Internet 'publication' goals of the Cadastral Maps Networkunder ICARUS leadership be extended to include archive-ledstorage and delivery of these maps as free OGC-standardWMS/WMTS raster images, for use in GIS development and onlinemapping via open and commercial software

● that lessons learned by archives and others from working with theHabsburg cadastral maps be converted to free public guidelines andstandards for all to use, in georeferencing and in linking metadata

● that mechanisms and capacity be developed for acceptance andservice of additional images and layers from external sources, topermit collaborative organizations and individuals outside thearchive network to contribute labor and expertise in digitizing,rectifying, blending, georeferencing, and/or annotating maps

● that the Network propose and manage a scheme and a frameworkfor publicly indexing the published maps across archives andcountries, to help historians and others find and use the appropriateimages and layers in their work

to continue the 5th Objective of the Cadastral Maps Network


We (All of Us) Want to Do More Than Browse...

City of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, religious communities register 1851 on a historical map from 1864; source: hisgis.nl


...but Effectiveness and Efficiency need Leadership

● file structure and service methods for the maps as data

● formatting for broad usage (applications and methods)

● standards and guidelines for preparation of data➔ scanning➔ geo-referencing➔ metadata➔ layer preparation➔ tiling➔ etc.

● seeding the servers with existing layers and more

● searchable indices, including alternate & re-worked maps

● mechanisms for receiving/vetting layers from external sources


Town of Rohatyn, Ukraine; sources: TsDIAL, L'viv, Ukraine, syg. 186.1.668; maps.geshergalicia.org, Cadastral Maps, Rohatyn 1846

Reducing Duplication & Gaps in Labor and Data

Sharing: Collaboration Inside/Outside Archives


Users Helping Users......and Broadening the Foundation Created by the Archives


● GIS base layers are built once, from trusted sources...

● ... with an opportunity for ongoing refinement of accessiblemap data, with wiki-like accessible layer history

● both GIS- and browser-ready image sets from the same data

● both academic and lay users can contribute, combining datafrom many sources, and all can freely use the data

● map data from multiple archives can be combined into singlestudies for open publication and use

● a common index to maps, accessible through each of thearchives' websites (regardless of where stored and howmanaged)

● common methods and shared expertise in all stages of datapreparation

Costs to Archives


certainly not zero, but not huge - and others will help

● leadership and management

● standards and guidelines development

● georeferencing and map image preparation

● metadata

● ongoing server support (in-house or contracted)

● ongoing administration, review, and inquiry management

● other tangible and intangible costs

Conclusion and Discussion


Thank you!

Jay Osborn, Digital Cartography CoordinatorGesher Galicia, Inc.

Town of Rohatyn, Ukraine, 2014; photos: Jay Osborn

community leveraging of archive map data: cooperative opportunities to build on the wealth of...

Education

jay osborn

gesher galicia slide

map c5923

map m0136

croatian cadastral maps

polandcadastral map

archives workcadastral

croatia source