By Francesca Giannetti
Rutgers University–New Brunswick is the newest member of the BTAA Geospatial Information Network. As of Fall 2022, we have contributed 4,576 new records to the BTAA Geoportal (
collection record |
browse link). These records come from our previously digitized "Maps of New Jersey" collection, which spans over 300 years of the state's development from geographic, geologic, political, environmental, and historical perspectives. This digital collection is drawn from multiple repositories, including
Special Collections and University Archives, the
New Jersey Environmental Digital Library, and several public library partners of the
New Jersey Digital Highway.
ncluded in the Rutgers collection are some rare and unique items from Special Collections and University Archives, such as this "Early Map of New Brunswick," which I (Francesca) often use in my mapping workshops to invite discussion about the similarities and differences with Google Maps, with which familiarity can generally be assumed. The comparison surfaces the ahistoricity of Google's interface as well as its slightly different prioritization of markers for commercial interests over public institutions and churches. Less frequently noticed is the fact that north is actually to the right in the historical map. Probing the reasons why New Brunswick might have been positioned above the Raritan River can be used as an invitation to examine the motivations and ideological underpinnings behind other cartographic conventions such as meridians and projections.
Early Map of New Brunswick
We are looking forward to the increased exposure to our Rutgers cartographic and GIS collections, as well as opening the geospatial door to the state of New Jersey that participation in the Geoportal brings. Special thanks are owed to Karen Majewicz, Melinda Kernik, and members of the Metadata Committee for their assistance with data cleanup, the addition of bounding boxes, and IIIF troubleshooting. Please be patient as we gradually update our older JPEG presentation files with IIIF-compatible pyramidal TIFFs.
