Lichtgedanken 02

Editorial 46 The whole world at a glance Still relevant even in the age of Google Maps: science historians plan to digitize around 4,000 school wall maps. BY JULIANE DÖLITZSCH Dr Norman Henniges views the map collection in the German National Library in Leipzig. Anyone recalling their geography les- sons can see large maps in their mind’s eye. Germany, Europe, the whole wor- ld: they all graced the classrooms and their job was to contribute to the exten- sion of topographic knowledge. Not in- frequently, the information displayed on them became obsolete before school days were over, as in Central Europe alone, national borders shifted drasti- cally in the 20th century as a result of two World Wars and the division of Germany – not to mention the rest of the world. This inevitably leads to an enormous number of school wall maps which are long since out of date but of great value from a historical perspective. »After around 1850, there was a genuine hype surrounding school wall maps,« Dr Andreas Christoph explains. »They were not just used from a geographi- cal standpoint but also to illustrate economic or social relationships. They expressed the prevailing world view of their time and helped to shape it,« the science historian from Ernst-Haeckel- Haus continues. As this resource offers an incredible well of insights currently rolled up in the archives collecting dust, Dr An- dreas Christoph and the science his- torian Dr Norman Henniges in colla- boration with the German Museum of Books and Writings of the German Na- tional Library (DNB), have conceived the CANVAS project to free the school wall map from its life in the shadows. The German Federal Ministry of Edu- cation and Research is putting €80,000 into the project. Creating standards for digitization The scientists are focusing first on di- gitizing all the copies and drawing up a concept. »What we need to do first is define standards for our further work,« Henniges reports. From a technical point of view, for example, he says it is not possible to scan the maps some of which are up to three by three metres in size. »That is why they are photogra- phed – with a resolution of 100 megapi- xels. This ensures that even the minu- test details are not lost.« The coming months will concentrate predominantly on school wall maps from the period between 1913 and 1950. In future, they will be made available on the DNB’s own portal. »The aim, of course, is to enable all scientists to use them, and in the long term to open them up via Open Access to anyone in- terested,« Project Manager Christoph explains.

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