Toward a Georeferencing Commons: A Crowdsourcing Case Study and the Creation of OldInsuranceMaps.net

Abstract

As institutional archives digitize their historical map collections and make them publicly available online, researchers and members of the public can pursue new methods of engagement with the materials. Certain transformations, like “georeferencing” wherein a scanned map image is turned into a geospatial raster dataset, can be time-consuming and difficult to automate, but do lend themselves to crowdsourcing, a well-accepted means by which archival processing and public engagement can be carried out in concert. Inspired by the concept of an archival commons, this article recounts the design, creation, and public participation period of a new web-based, crowdsourced georeferencing platform—something like a georeferencing commons. This work took place as a masters thesis project through 2021 and 2022, and the result continues to grow and evolve as OldInsuranceMaps.net, a public space for georeferencing historical fire insurance maps from the Library of Congress digital Sanborn Map collection. While the initial iteration of this project was built from GeoNode and GeoServer, and focused on maps of Louisiana, this article concludes with significant updates on the platform, and how it is being used by institutions and individuals well outside of Louisiana today.