Superiorland and Hiawathaland Cooperatives have purchased the Michigan

DIGITAL SANBORN MAPS online database. Upper Peninsula public libraries now

have free access to this database. From any library workstation, you

should be able to go to the following URL, click on "Browse Maps" and

We hope we will be able to set upremote access. Following is a description of the database for your PR:

Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970, provide digital access to more than

660,000 large-scale maps of over 12,000 American towns and cities. Founded

in 1867 by D.A. Sanborn, the Sanborn Map Company was the primary American

publisher of fire insurance maps for nearly 100 years. No maps are

consulted more in academic and public libraries. Sanborn maps are valuable

research tools for geographers, social historians, urban specialists,

genealogists, planners, local historians, architects, environmentalists,

and anyone who wants to learn about the history, growth, and development of

Michigan cities, towns, and neighborhoods. Users of Digital Sanborn Maps

have the ability to manipulate the maps, magnify and zoom in on specific

sections, and easily print them out. Each large-scale plan contains

detailed property and land-use records that depict the grid of everyday

life across a century of change. The maps provide a wealth of information,

such as building outline, size and shape, construction materials, height,

building use, windows and doors, street and sidewalk widths, boundaries,

and more. The plans often include information and shading for steel beams

or reinforced walls, plus symbols for stables, garages, warehouses,

etc. Also depicted are pipelines, railroads, wells, water mains, dumps,

and heavy machinery likely to affect the property's vulnerability to

earthquake, fire, and flood. Maps also give street names, street and

sidewalk widths, and house and block numbers. The digital collection was

scanned from the microfilm developed from the holdings at the Library of

Congress. The Library of Congress' Sanborn collection includes all maps

submitted to the library through copyright deposit and a set of maps

transferred to the library from the Bureau of the Census. Maps from the

bureau include corrections issued by the Sanborn Company that were pasted

over the original map sheet.