Library Homepage: Statistics & Data Sets: Visual Data

Essential questions to ask about visual representations of data, (including maps) to assist interpretation and use.

who created it,
why was it created,
how was it created,
what was the context the map was created in,
how does the map compare to similar content?

UNC-Chapel Hill School of Education, David Walbert. The original tutorial is no longer accessible.

Medicine and Public Health

Medical practitioners using mapping technologies to plot the health and welfare of diverse populations. From hand drawn Typhoid maps depicting the disease mapping in the early 20th century to digital maps showing the spread of physician services in the developing world: maps are crucial tools in tracking disease management.

Business and Government

Maps can be used to illustrate data, may have a role in propaganda and are often used to make political statements. So take the time to comprehend and interpret the maps that you use.

CIA: World Factbook
FEMA: Flood Map Service Center
Library of Congress: Fire Insurance Maps
Library of Congress: Geography and Maps Division
Old House Online: Sanborn Fire Maps
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A number of universities and public libraries in the U.S. have digitized and made available open access local collections of Sanborn Maps. Not all content posted at the listed institutions is fully downloadable, but they have all made an effort to provide access to the Sanborn Maps relevant to their geographic location. Some content MAY be open access. Go to the institution website to enquire.

These institutions include but are not exclusive to: The Library of Congress, The University of Alabama, San Jose Public Library, University of Colorado Digital Library, University of Florida Library, Digital Library of Georgia, IU-PUI University Library, SF Genealogy, Ball State University, University of Kansas, Kentuckiana Digital Library, David Rumsey Map Collection, University of Missouri, Washington University (St. Louis), University of Nevada (Reno), Princeton University Library, Dartmouth College Library (New Hampshire), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Toledo's Attic, Pennsylvania State University Libraries, University of Texas Libraries, University of South Carolina Library, University of Utah Library, UW Milwaukee (AGS Library), Wisconsin Historial Society.
Perry Castaneda LIbrary Map Collection
Union List of Sanborn and Other Fire Insurance Maps
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The List will show what collections holds the Sanborn maps for a specific geographic location. The majority of Sanborn maps are held by commercial interests and cost money to access.