Access is available in four ways: 1) from all search pages of the U.S. Congressional Set; 2) from every Serial Set publication containing an indexed map; 3) from InfoWeb, the web page that provides access to all available NewsBank and Readex collections; and 4) by a direct link available to customers.
Users can learn which maps have been indexed through the "covered years" text on the home page under Search Hints. Expanded information, including corresponding Congresses and Serial Set volumes can be found under Background/Product Status within the Help section.
Features include: search and browse capabilities designed for maps; ability to search specifically by dates related to the maps rather than the dates assigned to Serial Set publications; indexing of subject and geographic locations specific to the maps; citation records providing map title, Serial Set publication, map date, issuing body, cartographer or author, coordinates, scale, content notes and geographic location and subject indexing; linking of related maps within a publication or multi-page maps to enable easy navigation; a process based on physical review of original publications to ensure that a high-resolution image and citation record is created for every map; citation records that can be emailed with a click; provision of suggested related search terms based on the acclaimed Readex Congressional Thesaurus.
A Serial Set citation search limited to maps will return all publications with metadata meeting the search criteria that also include one or more maps. Such a search is made against the metadata applied to Serial Set publications, not the metadata applied to the Serial Set maps.
The same search in Serial Set Maps will return all maps with metadata meeting the search criteria. Map citation records do not contain all indexing terms that parent publications contain, nor do citation records of parent publications contain all indexing terms applied to maps within.
A dedicated team of experienced map indexers is responsible for creating the Serial Set map citations. Map citations include metadata not relevant to Serial Set publications, such as scale and coordinates. Dates applied to the maps are also independent from the dates assigned to the publications. The terms applied are specific to the cartographer, subject and locations represented on the map, not to the Serial Set publication in which a map was published.
Sources include the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names, the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), Library of Congress (LC) Authorities, National Agriculture Library (NAL) Thesaurus and specialized place name directories on the Internet,
In addition, a proprietary Vocabulary Authority, actively controlled, maintained and supplemented by Readex Serial Set editors, ensures consistent and extensive application of terms to like subjects, geographies and names in both the Serial Set and Serial Set Maps.
Donna Koepp is the Editor of the "CIS US Serial Set Index: Part XIV, Index and Carto-Bibliography of Maps, 1789-1969." Koepp holds an M.A. in Librarianship and has 32 years of experience as a Government Documents and Map Librarian.
Vicky Bedi has an M.S. in Library Science. Bedi has been a cataloger of maps in Dartmouth University Library Special Collections and Maps Collection. She has more than 11 years of related experience. The map indexing team recently published "" in the April 2009 issue of The Readex Report.
The precise number will not be known until all of the volumes are scanned; however, the current estimate is approximately 68,000. When complete, Serial Set Maps will include citations records for every map published through 1980.
Inset maps are indexed as part of the larger map. Inset maps are not separately indexed, nor are they counted separately. Each map citation record counts as one map. In a small percentage of cases, a multi-page map is counted as one map, because it is indexed as a single map, although printed on more than one page.
From our releases through April 2010, we know that more than 10,000 of nearly 42,000 released maps were printed in color. Although the precise total number is not yet known, current estimates are that approximately 13,000 of approximately 70,000 maps were printed in color.
The precise number is not currently known; the Readex Map Team estimates that about half of the maps are larger than a publication page.
What are Readex's sources for the maps in its Serial Set?
Black and white maps are scanned from Serial Set volumes borrowed from the libraries of Dartmouth College, University of Vermont and the U.S. Senate. Color maps are scanned from those in the collection of the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress.
The Library of Congress has expertly removed the Serial Set maps from a rarely used Prestige Edition of the Serial Set and carefully stored them flat in folders. By using these superior maps, crease lines are less pronounced and other issues related to condition are minimal. At the Library of Congress's Geography and Map Division, these well-preserved maps can be digitized on a high quality jumbo scanner, reducing the number that must be stitched together from multiple images.
Yes, digital images for maps are handled in different ways, depending on their size and color. Every map is digitized at 400 dpi, 24bit color. Maps contained within the standard page size of Serial Set volumes are scanned on a Kirtas APT BookScan. In addition, a high-resolution TIFF image is created in PhotoShop. Black-and-white maps larger than the standard page size are filmed with a Phase One P45 for Hasselblad and then created as TIFF images in PhotoShop. If more than one image is required to capture the whole map, the map stitching is also done in PhotoShop. Most color maps are scanned at the Library of Congress using their jumbo scanners.
Map images are available in PDF and TIFF formats. The PDF format is provided for consistency with the format provided for the pages of Serial Set publications. TIFF images are available to provide users with the capability to print over-sized maps to scale. TIFF images can also be used for geo-referencing.
Yes. Users with standard printers can choose to print a selection from a larger map, or print on an 8.5 x 14-inch sheet. In addition, users can instruct their printer to "fit image to page." Those able to print on sheets larger than 8.5 x 14 may download TIFF images to a local drive and use local software to print.
In simple terms, geo-referencing is placing coordinates on a map to fix its location on the face of the earth. It can be used to combine data from more than one map, and to enable comparisons of old data with current data.
Here's an example of how geo-referencing might be used with Serial Set Maps. The Serial Set's many Washington, D.C. maps present a treasure-trove of information, including instances of diseases and fatalities by block; location of schools; location of sewer and water lines; public transportation and much more. These maps are mostly presented on the same scale and projection, but no coordinates are given. By adding accurate latitude and longitude references, these maps can be compared with other maps, both historical and current, using today’s GIS technology.
The completion of Serial Set map indexing is planned for mid-2011.
During fall 2010 Readex plans to complete the maps in the printed Serial Set volumes through 1980. The initial 1,543 volumes of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set were scanned from microfiche. From these volumes, approximately 1,500 black and white maps remain to be re-scanned to produce high-resolution images. The re-digitization began January 2010 and is scheduled to be completed in early 2012.
Examples include the spread of diseases, both animal and human; evolution of air routes; railroad acquisitions and mergers, including railroad routes; Indian reservations, including migration and border changes; rivers, including development of navigation, exploration, locks and dams and flood control; public land and railroad surveys; Boxer Rebellion; Commodore Perry Exploration of the Orient; Jeannette Expedition; Philippine War; irrigation development in India; weather; Civil War; census information; voting and political districting and many others.
Examples include the following: Atlas of color plates of federally controlled land in the District of Columbia; Plans for pneumatic tube facilities for postal delivery; Chart showing the original milestones of the District of Columbia by L'Enfant; A pair of world maps comparing areas that had been mapped in 1860 and 1915; Map depicting the poliomyelitis epidemic of 1916; maps relating to the Yakatut Bay, Alaska, earthquake of 1899, and illustrating the resultant "shattering" of Muir Glacier; Congressional district maps, 1909 and 1910; maps accompanying the U.S. Immigration Commission report on immigration, including racial/ethnic neighborhood maps of major U.S. cities; Historical map of the distribution of banking capital in New York State in 1836; maps relating to Jews and Eastern European ethnic groups from William Z. Ripley's The Races of Europe (1899); maps accompanying The Ethnogeography of the Tewa Indians, by linguist and anthropologist John Peabody Harrington; Holy Land map from Thomas Jefferson's Bible; map of the world by Leonardo da Vinci; Waldseemuller maps of the world from the 1500s; maps depicting historical boundary changes among U.S. states and territories; historical maps of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point; map accompanying report of frozen mammoth found in Siberia; Map illustrating Peary's North Pole Expedition (1898-1902); map containing data on aliens in prisons and charitable institutions in the United States; 31 battle and other maps related to World War I, including the Marne and Meuse-Argonne; Chronological map of the influenza epidemic of 1918 in the United States; Map of the United States showing routes of the principal explorers from 1501 to 1844; Geological reconnaissance maps of Alaska; maps of the National Parks from 1918, including tourist maps; Map showing the prehistoric migrations of the Slavs in Bohemia and Moravia; Map summarizing American deaths in the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920; and many others.
From a Serial Set Map citation or map image, users can click on the external link under "From Serial Set Publication" in the upper right quadrant.
Here are two:
Title: Chart of part of the Bahama Islands showing the tracks ascribed to Columbus on his discovery of the New World. [Coast and Geodetic Survey report, 1880. No. 83] Date: 1492 From Serial Set Publication:
Serial Set No. 1942, Session Vol. No.2
46th Congress, 3rd Session
 , Page [Not Numbered]
Map No. 58 Event Date: 1492 Map Creation Date: April, 1881 Issuing Body:
Personal Names:
Subjects:
Contents Note:
Includes five inset maps: Crooked Island anchorages; Acklin Island, N.E. part. surveyed by Comdr. R. Owen, R.N., 1832; Long Island, lower part. From U.S. Hydrographic Office chart, corrected to 1872; Samana, or, Atwood Cay. Surveyed by Comdr. R. Owen, R.N., 1832; Clarence Harbor. Surveyed by Capt. E. Barnett, R.N., 1834. Coordinates: W77°52'--W19°36' / N25°00'--N19°36' Physical Description: color map Language: English Copyright © 2005 by NewsBank, inc. All Rights Reserved. Record Number: 10E38DF0C834A1B8 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location):
and Title: No. 2. Mapa general, Islas Filipinas Observatorio de Manila. [United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. No. 2] Date: [January 1, 1900] From Serial Set Publication:
Serial Set No. 3885, Session Vol. No.47
56th Congress, 1st Session
 , Page [Not Numbered]
Map No. 2 Parent Document Date: [January 1, 1900 Issuing Body: U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (1878-1970) Subjects:
Islands
Oceans and seas
Pacific Ocean
Philippines
South China Sea Coordinates: E114°--E129° / N22°--N04° Physical Description: color map Language: Spanish Copyright © 2005 by NewsBank, inc. All Rights Reserved. Record Number: 11499AD0C59A8E18 OpenURL Article Bookmark (right click, and copy the link location):
Serial Set No. 3885, Session Vol. No.47 S.Doc. 138 pt. Atlas, Page [Not Numbered]
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