In March 2025, Sue Oldenburg and Francesca Giannetti interviewed Michael Siegel, Staff Cartographer, Department of Geography, Rutgers–New Brunswick. Mike is the creator and maintainer of the eminently browsable Historical Maps of New Jersey , Rutgers' oldest digital cartographic information resource, which continues to inform and delight map fans to this day. We discussed the origins of his site, the process of creating and maintaining it, and its enduring value to educators, researchers, and the community. Figure 1. A screen capture of Mike Siegel from our Zoom interview. Project Beginnings The impetus for Historical Maps of New Jersey was a 2002 exhibit held in Alexander Library called “The Changing Landscape of New Brunswick, New Jersey.” Mike co-curated the exhibit with Dr. Briavel Holcomb, Professor Emerita of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Most of the maps were selected from Special Collections and University Archives , Rutgers University Libraries....
By Tara Anthony, Penn State University Libraries Geological maps are a valuable resource for understanding characteristics of earth properties through rock and mineral formations. Historical geological maps held within map collections can span geographic areas and be useful for understanding regions across administrative regions, such as state borders. The BTAA Geoportal can be a source for identifying where to look for historic geological map collections within BTAA institutions. This blog post will highlight what types of geological maps are able to be located from the BTAA Geoportal as of Spring 2025. Geological maps are a resource type for narrowing down specific map types. See this search for Resource type (Geological maps) for results. These historic geological maps are primarily from the early half the 1900s, with some earlier geological maps as well that date back to the mid-1800s. Of the results, the following institutions have materials clas...