theatlantic:

Good Deed of the Day: Help Geo-Reference the British Library’s Map Collection

The British Library needs your help.

It is in the process of turning its gargantuan collection of maps into a digital resource tied to Google Earth. This allows people to see ancient and modern maps at the same time, with a slider to fade between the centuries. It’s easy to compare a city to its younger self, or observe the geographic impact of dams, bulkheads, and embankments. You can spot the mistakes — or marvel at the accuracy — of mapmakers working in the pre-electric age.

But for this to happen, the Library needs people to set up control points linking old maps to satellite data. It’s simple: you find recognizable locations and join them. Then, the software uses your input to mesh the two maps. (You can learn about georeferencing and be assigned a random map here.)

Read more. [Images: The British Library]

I did a map of the Netherlands.

189 Notes/ Hide

  1. correlationdoesnotimplycausation reblogged this from honeybadgerchild
  2. honeybadgerchild reblogged this from theatlantic and added:
    Do this in class instead of Facebook.
  3. uptownandout reblogged this from theatlantic
  4. erikjgreene reblogged this from theatlantic
  5. eurasias reblogged this from fuckyeahgeographyalligator
  6. balancedrock reblogged this from theatlantic
  7. donnellalexander reblogged this from theatlantic
  8. lohansrevenge reblogged this from lemonknope and added:
    um COOL
  9. lemonknope reblogged this from jujubrains
  10. jujubrains reblogged this from theatlantic
  11. msnyx reblogged this from theatlantic
  12. professorenidgumby reblogged this from theatlantic
  13. bseverns reblogged this from theatlantic
  14. trymypi reblogged this from theatlantic
  15. somuchtoc reblogged this from theatlantic
  16. mirthxcrisis reblogged this from theatlantic and added:
    As if I needed a new hobby.
  17. vaireeuhs reblogged this from theatlantic
  18. andrew-wood reblogged this from brookewyrm
  19. barbiefaced reblogged this from stephenkennedy and added:
    Good Deed of the Day: Help Geo-Reference the British Library’s Map Collection The British Library needs your help. It is...
  20. stephenkennedy reblogged this from mapsandshhtuff
  21. zamorastudio reblogged this from theatlantic and added:
    Interesting
  22. paylakatel reblogged this from theatlantic
  23. southern-humidity reblogged this from southern-humidity and added:
    Update: I just did my first map! Sooo much fun. I’m sure I’ll be doing this instead of my homework pretty soon.
  24. noir-fox reblogged this from theatlantic and added:
    Whenever this project is finished writers will crash the site. That sounds so useful.
  25. smileatleast reblogged this from fuckyeahgeographyalligator and added:
    Good Lord Yes. I am a georeferencing wizard.