Google Maps Technology Used for Online Map Collection

University Libraries Use Google’s My Maps to Create Interactive Maps for the Sanborn Map Collection of Muncie in the Digital Media Repository

Students, faculty, and researchers searching for Sanborn® Fire Insurance Maps of Muncie in the University Libraries’ Digital Media Repository now have a new tool for using the collection: a Google map. Angela Gibson, GIS Specialist in the Geospatial Resources and Map Collection, created Google maps showing the locations of the 200 individual map sheets for Sanborn® Fire Insurance Maps of Muncie, Indiana.

The insurance maps depict Muncie’s commercial, industrial, and residential sections in 1883, 1887, 1892, 1896, 1902, and 1911, and were produced by the Sanborn Map Company to assist fire insurance agents in determining the degree of hazard for establishing premiums for particular properties. This new resource will greatly aid researchers in locating and analyzing the changes of a specific area of Muncie over the years. The Google map is also beneficial because students and faculty can see how the study area currently appears. Users can view the Google map with satellite images turned on or with only roads activated.

Google My Maps was used to create this interactive map because of its ease of use, and many people are already familiar with the Google Maps format. My Maps also integrates well with ESRI ArcGIS software. For the Sanborn collection, the maps were created in ArcMap and then exported as KML files. Once in this format, they were imported into Google My Maps, where the maps could be customized and linked to records in the Digital Media Repository.

To access the Sanborn Map Collection Interactive Map, click on View Google Maps of this Collection, from the Sanborn® Fire Insurance Maps Collection main page in the DMR, http://libx.bsu.edu/collection.php?CISOROOT=/SanbrnMps, or access this resource directly at
http://libx.bsu.edu/cdm4/sanborn_google.php.