BTAA-GIN Collection Stories

By Laura Kane McElfresh Featured Item or Collection: Fire insurance maps of Minneapolis ("Sanborn atlases"), 1912 and 1923-1930 (hard copies) What is the item? Two sets of Minneapolis "Sanborn atlases" ( Fire insurance maps of Minneapolis ), published in 1912. These large maps (the books are 70 cm high, or 27 1/2 inches) are drawn on a 1:600 scale (50 feet = 1 inch) and show a building-level, block-by-block depiction of the city. Caption: Sanborn maps "show the size, shape, and construction of dwellings, commercial buildings, and factories as well as fire walls, locations of windows and doors, sprinkler systems, and types of roofs. The maps also indicate widths and names of streets, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers". -- Introduction to the Sanborn Map Collection , Library of Congress Previously owned by the City of Minneapolis, these Sanborn Atlases were among a collection of Twin Cities-area maps and atlases stored in the ...

By Melinda Kernik.  What’s in this collection? The  Data Repository for the University of Minnesota (DRUM) archives data generated from student, staff, and faculty researchers from a wide range of disciplines.  Over fifty of the datasets have a spatial component, with varied topics including:   reconstruction of river discharge since the last glacial maximum in North America digitized highway network showing dates of freeway construction in and around the Twin Cities, Minnesota (1920-1995) distribution models of invasive species in Minnesota Librarian curators review all submissions to DRUM and work with researchers to ensure that the data are complete and well described. Collection highlight One of the most frequently downloaded items in DRUM is data about racially restrictive covenants in Hennepin County .  The files have been downloaded more than 6500 times in the last 11 months!   Racial covenants were legal clauses embedded in property recor...

By Melinda Kernik and Laura McElfresh This interview is part of our Data Provider Series, which highlights local governments and institutions that offer open GIS data. In each interview, providers tell us about their missions and data resources. We hope this will be a great way for readers to learn more about local GIS developments and new initiatives. Name: Zeb Thomas Title: GIS Data Systems Coordinator Division/Department: MNIT Services Partnering with the MN Department of Natural Resources Website: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ 1. What is the mission of your agency? The DNR has three primary missions: 1) to conserve and manage natural resources; 2) to provide outdoor recreation opportunities; and 3) to support commercial uses of natural resources. These missions are sometimes in conflict, but all relate to promoting a high quality of sustainable life & good management of our environment…the better the data you have, the better you can conserve and manage resources. 2. How is your...