-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Sanborn Maps
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 15:41:08 -0500
From: HelenJane Armstrong <[log in to unmask]>
To: MAPS-L (E-mail) <[log in to unmask]>


The University of Florida Map & Imagery Library does not subscribe to the
Online Sanborn's.  The Library has all the Chadwyck-Healey, etc. microfilms
for Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and Washington, DC.  These cover the
states in which our College of Architecture, History and other departments
are interested.  Since the subscription on-lines are in black and white and
we have the microfilms, we have little to gain for the expense.  The
University of Florida has the second copy of the Library of Congress
collection of Sanborn maps for Florida Cities.  Person's can make
appointments to see these rare originals.  However, there are Florida
residents who would have to drive 6-7 hours to see them.  Therefore our
Digital Library Center scanned all of the public domain Florida Cities
Sanborns on to a state-wide Library Resources Internet site (PALMM).  A
considerable amount of time was spent developing the quality of these
colored images.  We were very pleased with their hard work.  The result is
terrific as to matching color, readability, and possibility of enlargement.
If you wish to view the Sanborn's they are at:
http://palmm.fcla.edu/sanborn/

Publication of Archival, Library & Museum Materials (PALMM) is a cooperative
initiative of the public universities of Florida to provide digital access
to important source materials for research and scholarship.   Cartographic
Materials in PALMM  besides the Florida Sanborns, includes the Aerial
Photographic Archives of Florida, antique maps of Florida, Africa and Latin
America, plus non-copyrighted maps of Florida.

Some of you may  be interested in a current  project involving the Sanborns:
The site is not up for the public yet but I have included the mission
statement:
Ephemeral Cities is an integrated collection of maps, documents, museum
objects, photographs, and ephemera that breathe life into the static
renderings of the historic fire insurance maps created by the Sanborn
National Insurance Diagram Bureau. Funded in part by the Institute for
Museum and Library Services, this model project focuses on three key Florida
cities: Gainesville, the site of the largest university; Tampa, the West
coast hub of commerce and finance; and Key West, an island rich with
Bahamian and Cuban influences. The time is 1884-1903.
If anyone wishes further information on these projects please feel free to
contact me.  A session was held at ALA in Orlando this June and several
articles are forthcoming.
Helen
HelenJane Armstrong, PhD
Head, Map & Imagery Library
George A. Smathers Libraries
University of Florida
P.O. Box 117011
Gainesville, FL 32611-7011