THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

A periodic report from

THE NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY PROGRAM

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1996 • NO. 5

Digitizing maps and atlases for the National

Digital Library (NDL) Program is a formidable task that LC’s Geography and Map

(G&M) Division, keeper of 4.5 million maps

and 60,000 atlases, has assumed.

Why? Since most maps are oversize, they require special handling as well as special scanning equipment. Also,

the geographic and cartographic industries have special requirements for map

scanning to ensure that historic maps can

be used with modern digital geographic

data.

Scanning maps from different time periods requires consideration of elevation

models, road and boundary files and satellite imagery, among other factors. The large size of

many of the original maps means that digital files are

quite large, frequently several hundred megabytes. Quality assurance and post-processing of such large images

requires powerful computers and software.

G&M’s approach to scanning reflects the impact of

digital technology on the production of cartographic and

geographic data. Many of the technologies used for scanning the materials for the NDL Program are widely used

within the geographic information systems industry and

have been for more than a decade. Thus there is already

GEOGRAPHY

AND

MAP DIVISION

major demand

and support from

a large user community for the

scanning of historic maps and atlases.

Digitization opens up rich

cartography collections

In January 1995 the Center for Geographic Information was formed, an industry group dedicated to the support of the Library of Congress’s Geography and Map

Division in its transition to the digital world. Two member firms of the center have already made substantial

donations of equipment to support the division’s efforts.

Tangent Engineering Inc. of Englewood, Colo., donated a large-format, flatbed color scanner and printing

system. It can scan flat items up to 24 by 34 inches at resolutions of up to 600 dots per inch and in 24-bit color.

Hewlett-Packard donated a substantial array of computer

equipment and cartographic software packages and data, including an optical storage

device, engineering-class workstations and

personal computers and several printers.

This equipment will be used in the postprocessing of maps scanned by the division.

Other companies participating in the

Center for Geographic Information will also

donate software and expertise to help develop effective

methods for scanning and disseminating the Library’s

maps. This support supplements the four staff positions

assigned to G&M by the NDL Program.

The development of a graphic interface to facilitate the

selection of maps covering a user-defined portion of the

earth’s surface is vital to the successful scanning of maps.

Considerable work remains to be done to design such an

interface.

The scanning of maps presents many challenges for

G&M. But working with the National Digital Library Program, the geographic and cartographic community and

the Library’s Information Technology Services, the division will be able to meet these challenges and share its

rich collections widely.

 —Gary Fitzpatrick,

 Geography and Map Division

202/707-8542; gfit@loc.gov

DOES A DIGITAL WORLD

THREATEN THE COMMUNAL NATURE OF THE

PUBLIC LIBRARY?

SEE PAGE 2

INSIDE
THE NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY PROGRAM

2 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1996

tribute to her host, she called the Library of

Congress, “the ultimate American public library.”

James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, also welcomed the attendees and spoke

eloquently of Americans “who made a difference” in the nation’s libraries. It was Andrew

Carnegie’s “fascination with information” that

led him to provide the funds for the establishment of 2,800 free public libraries, the Librarian said.

Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress

(1899-1939), persuaded Congress to increase the

Library’s budget to build its collections and

subsidize the cost of cataloging, which benefits

libraries across America and around the world.

It “costs more to catalog a book than to buy it,”

Dr. Billington noted.

“As the first Librarian of Congress who is

an expert in a foreign [Russian] culture, I am

especially aware of how important and precious

our public library system is,” he added. “Many

believe it is one of the most important features

of our democracy.”

The Librarian then discussed what he believes are four common characteristics and

threats to public libraries:

First, according to Dr. Billington, “for democracy to be dynamic, it has to be based on the

dynamic use of knowledge.” The threat is that

with the flood of new technologies has come a

Preserving the inclusive

nature of American

public libraries

Atopic no less ambitious than “The

Transformation of the Public Library”

was the subject of a recent conference

held at the Library.

The Dec. 8 events were sponsored by many

of the most important institutions working on

issues relating to access to digital information

(see box).

Deanna Marcum, president of the Council on

Library Resources, opened the activities by noting that, for many Americans, their public library evokes “warm feelings” about a place that

is open to everyone with a desire to learn. “Digital information greatly enhances the possibilities for all groups of users,” she added. Paying

continued on the next page

With the

flood of new

technologies

has come a

“flood of

infotainment,

which

degrades

knowledge.”

—James

Billington,

Librarian of

Congress

Photo by Yusef El-Amin

Deanna Marcum, president of the Council on

Library Resources,

maintained that digital

information should

enhance the free nature of

public library resources,

not threaten it.
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1996 3

Andrew

Carnegie’s

“fascination with

information” led

him to provide

funds for 2,800

free public

libraries.

“flood of infotainment, which degrades knowledge.”

 Second, “knowledge must be openly accessible to all people. Today, open access is threatened by the possibility of ‘information-haves’

and ‘have-nots’ — not by a conscious effort to

monopolize information, but by the costs of

delivering that information,” he warned.

Third, the communal nature of public libraries as “temples of pluralism” in America is endangered by “the idea that you can get anything you want from home. The image of a

lonely nerd in front of a computer screen is a

de-formation of the idea of a gathering place.”

Last, Dr. Billington lamented the fact that

where once libraries “represented a kind of

communal tribute to the values of the book,”

they are now at risk, due to the pervasive “culture of television, which has, for many, replaced

active knowledge gathering, such as reading.”

The Library’s National Digital Library Program is designed to stimulate users to go back

to books to find information to supplement

their on-line research. The program focuses on

nonbooks because, according to Dr. Billington,

it is these materials “that are not easily accessible” because of their fragility and rarity.

 “The National Digital Library gives a new

boost to the intellectual community. We at the

Library of Congress regard you as our partners

in this effort.”

 —Guy Lamolinara

 Public Affairs Office

Coalition for Networked Information

Kennedy School of Government

University of California at Berkeley

National Research Initiatives

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Houghton Mifflin

University of Michigan

Public Library Association

Los Angeles Public Library

Utah State Library

Flint Public Library

Libraries for the Future

Center for Urban Education

Rutgers University

The Benton Foundation

Harvard University

University of Pittsburgh

Leading entities in the

library world took part in

the conference on public

libraries, hosted by the

Library of Congress.

The Librarian of

Congress, James

Billington, cautioned

against a culture of

“information haves and

have-nots,” the antithesis of the public library

concept.

Photo by Yusef El-Amin
THE NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY PROGRAM

4 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1996

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Library Chief of Staff to represent U.S. at G-7

electronic library sessions

A PERIODIC REPORT FROM

THE NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY PROGRAM

Reports will be published about 12 times a

year, using gift funds. Comments and

suggestions are welcome.

Editorial Direction

Suzanne Thorin, Chief of Staff

Office of the Librarian

202/707-5220; SUTH@LOC.GOV

Laura Campbell, Director

National Digital Library Program

202/707-3300; LCAM@LOC.GOV

Managing Editor

Caroline Krewson

202/707-5220; CKRE@LOC.GOV

Associate Editor

Guy Lamolinara

202/707-9217; GLAM@LOC.GOV

* World Wide Web Access

URL: http://lcweb.loc.gov/ndl/per.html

ISSN 1083-3978

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NEXT

ISSUE

THIS REPORT Our next issue will be published and distributed in March.

IS ON THE WEB*

The Library of Congress is reaching out

to the Global Information Society by

participating in the G-7. Through its

participation, the Library officially represents the United States

on issues of international importance to

the future of libraries.

The global network of

electronic libraries is

one of the 11 pilot

projects endorsed by

the seven participating nations (United

States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Italy,

Germany, Japan). On May 29, 1995, the Library

of Congress participated in the first G-7 working group on Electronic Libraries at the

Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

 Suzanne Thorin, the Library’s chief of staff

and coordinator of the National Digital Library

Program, serves as the official U.S. representative for the digital library (Bibliotheca

Universalis) initiative of the G-7. As the U.S.

representative, Ms. Thorin is responsible for

working with the U.S. Library community and

other national libraries to develop a concrete

agenda for international cooperation, attending international meetings and providing periodic status reports.

“What a great

opportunity for

us, working

with libraries

across the

country, to help

develop

electronic

libraries

worldwide.

I’m honored by

this appointment.”

—Suzanne Thorin,

Chief of Staff,

Office of the

Librarian