----------------------------Original message---------------------------- >---------- >From: Laura Saegert >Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 1997 9:25 AM >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Texas State Library Map Archives > >If you have any questions about the maps (not technical questions) referred >to in the following press release, please let me know. > >Laura Saegert, Map Archivist >Archives and Information Services Division >Texas State Library >[log in to unmask] >(512) 463-5500 > >The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) is pleased to >announce that high-resolution scanned images from its Map Archive are now >available online at the Archives and Information Services Lobby area of the >TSLAC web site. The complete list of scanned maps can be found at >http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/lobby/maps/ . > >Approximately 20 maps -- dating from 1720 to 1822 -- are presently available >at the web site, with the number of scanned images expected to increase >weekly. > >These historic maps have been carefully scanned on a high-resolution drum >scanner to a resolution of 250 dots per inch. Although the map images have >been digitally manipulated to optimize contrast and readability, no details >have been added or reconstructed. For most maps, the image size and color >palette have been slightly reduced to minimize the final file size, while >maintaining a level of detail necessary to preserve all printed lines and >notations. > >From a chronological list of available maps, visitors to the site can read >complete descriptions and view low-resolution thumbnail images of each map. >The high-resolution, compressed JPEG-format images, ranging in size from 1 to >3 Megabytes, are available to download for offline viewing. > >These scanned images represent only a small fraction of the more than 7,600 >maps in the TSLAC Map Archive, which includes original, photoreproduced, and >compiled maps covering the period from the early seventeenth through the late >twentieth centuries. A searchable database of the entire archive is also >available at the web site which enables users to identify specific maps using >search criteria such as location, date, or type of map. > > >Technical Notes: > >Due to their large size, the high-resolution JPEG map image files may take >significant time to download and must be "unzipped" using a helper >application such as Stuffit Expander (Mac) or WinZip (Windows). > >Once unzipped, the large JPEG images are best viewed with a commercial >graphics software application such as Adobe PhotoShop. They may also be >viewed with a number of shareware viewers, such as "JPEGView" and >"GraphicConverter" for a Macintosh and "LVIEW" for a Windows PC. These >viewers offer useful zooming, cropping, and printing options and may be >downloaded from http://www.shareware.com. > >Consult the shareware READ ME files for important information on memory >allocation to ensure adequate resources for these large image files. Also be >sure to register and pay any necessary shareware fees for these programs. > > >