Stumbled on a huge old map collection at the downtown library branch

I was looking for a book on local bridges and found a whole room of physical maps in the basement. They have city planning maps from the 1950s, hand drawn stuff. Some show neighborhoods that don't exist anymore. The debate I had with myself is whether this stuff should be scanned and put online for everyone, or if keeping it physical protects it. A librarian said they get maybe 2 visitors a month down there. What's the better move for preserving history like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

noah1351mo ago

Yo, scanning it is protecting it. Digital copies save the info even if the paper gets wrecked.

charliep791mo ago

I mean sure, I get the logic @noah135, but is it really that deep for most people's regular paperwork? Like are you really gonna need a backup of that grocery receipt from 2022.