UAF is supplying digital copies of its maps, while institutions such as Rasmuson Library and the National Library of Russia are adding things like rare and old manuscripts, pictures, film and recorded sound. The end result, due in 2003, will allow anyone with a yearning to learn more about the history of this corner of the world a chance to look at materials that have never been so easily accessible. A perfect example is cartographer Corneille De Jode's map of Alaska. Some in the rare map trade believe the 1593 rendering is the first of Alaska. There are small detail drawings of what appear to be bighorn sheep or mountain goats and representations of village settlements.
Mountains ring the state, bordering even the Arctic Ocean.
I think it's really neat to hold maps that kings and historical figures handled. The maps come directly out of the library's extensive archival collection. Those images are scanned into the computer and then transferred onto writable compact discs, which are sent to the Library of Congress. That's a vast simplification of a project that has required library staff involved in the project to improvise. So several pictures are taken, then knitted together using computer software.