A PUBLICATION

October 2005 Vol. 25 No. 10

Maps in Our Lives

3PROFESSIONAL SURVEYOR MAGAZINE • October 2005

An Interview with Dr. John R. HébertChief, Geography and Map DivisionLibrary of Congress

DDr. John R. Hébert is Chief ofthe Geography and Map Divi-sion of the Library of Con-gress. He began work in this division in 1969. He is a LatinAmerican historian and geographer, and for asubstantial part of his career, was an administra-tor in the Hispanic Division of the Library of Con-gress. From 1988 to 1993 he directed the Library ofCongress’ program in commemoration of the500th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage of discov-ery, 1492: An Ongoing Voyage. From his initialwork in panoramic maps of American cities (1974)to his most recent compilation, Charting Louis-iana: 500 Years of Maps (New Orleans: The His-toric New Orleans Collection, 2003), Dr. Héberthas concentrated his research efforts and publish-ing on the historical cartography, especially of therelationship of Spain and the United States alongthe Gulf Coast, on the history of Spain, France,and England in the Gulf Coast region. A Louisiananative, Dr. Hébert received his B.A. from the Uni-versity of Southwestern Louisiana (1965), and hisM.A. and Ph.D. from Georgetown University (1967and 1972). He served on the presidential Christo-pher Columbus Quincentenary Commission andserves on the U.S. Board on Geographic Namesand on the Federal Geographic Data Commission.

What is significant about the exhibition “Maps in Our Lives” that opened at the Library of Congress on September 14?The exhibition is a cooperative venture betweenthe Geography and Map Division of the Library ofCongress and the American Congress on Survey-ing and Mapping (ACSM). The relationship be-tween the two groups extends over 30 years, withthe Geography and Map Division serving as a

The Exhibit: “Maps in Our Lives”September 14, 2005 – January 26, 2007Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Saturday 8:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m.James Madison Memorial Building – Library of Congress101 Independence Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C.Open to the public free of charge

4 PROFESSIONAL SURVEYOR MAGAZINE • October 2005

FEATURErecipient of the ACSM map competi-tion winners each year, and with divi-sion staff assisting in the judging ofannual winners. The exhibition is anatural extension of this ongoing re-lationship and represents the impor-tance that both institutions remain incontact with each other’s programs

fields of surveying, cartography, geo-desy, and geographic information sys-tems appears in the exhibition. Withtheir appearance is the opportunity toaddress the significance of mappingin our everyday lives, reaching out toa general public who will be intro-duced not only to the variety of ele-ments comprising cartography but al-so to the vast resources that can befound in the Geography and Map Di-vision to further one’s interests.

The exhibition, Maps in Our Lives,is divided into the four major seg-ments of ACSM’s charge—surveying,cartography, geodesy, and geograph-ic information systems. Throughthese sections it is the goal of the ex-hibition to address the functions ofeach system and to display a numberof examples from each so that thepublic appreciates fully the impact ofmaps on our daily life.

George Washington’s original 1766 manuscript plat of his farm on Little HuntingCreek, near Mount Vernon. This map is among 12 original manuscripts, prepared byour first president, that are held in the Geography and Map Division.

and mission objectives. In the mid-1980s the Geography and Map Divi-sion mounted an exhibition of ACSMmap competition winners. This time,the exhibition wishes to describe thecurrents of mapping as identified inthe four major sections of the ACSMumbrella. Representation from the

A three-dimensional model showing a portion of Washington’s 1766 map of the farmon Little Hunting Creek overlaid with modern structures and other evidence of land use.

The surveying segment has cho-sen to follow the use, over 250 years,of property which belonged toGeorge Washington, our first presi-dent, and a well-established surveyorfor much of his life.

By showing how an exactly-locatedpiece of land near Mount Vernonchanges in use and ownership overtime, we can show how surveyingsuccessfully links us to the past, whileinvesting its energies in the present.

The cartography section highlightsthe rich and varied contributions ofmapmakers—academic, commercial,federal, and private—in depictingevents, locations, and functions ofplaces throughout the globe. Themesfrom urban planning and transporta-tion routes to interpreting World WarII and boundary issues, the cartogra-phy section demonstrates that if a

An 1859 map of Washington’s land at Mount Vernon based on original plats and other more recent maps compiled by W. Gillingham. From the collections of the Geography and Map Division.

piece of land exists, it can bemapped—and mapped in manydifferent ways.

The geodesy segment depictsthe manner in which a uniform andgeographically correct survey sys-tem of the United States was devel-oped and the significance of know-ing one’s exact location is today, as

By showing how an exactlylocated piece of land near

Mount Vernon changes in useand ownership over time,

we can show how surveyingsuccessfully links us to the

past, while investing its energies in the present.

PROFESSIONAL SURVEYOR MAGAZINE • October 2005

we have seen introduced in GPS sys-tems for every household use.

The geographic information seg-ment of the exhibition is a continua-tion of the surveying section, as themodern day extension by the newtechnology takes contemporary

5

A replica of a ca. 3000 B.C.land use map on a claytablet from the Tigris-Euphrates region. In the collections of the Library of Congress.

6 PROFESSIONAL SURVEYOR MAGAZINE • October 2005

FEATURE

and migrations of geospatial data indigital form.

The division serves as a site whereissues on legislation are clarifiedthrough use of cartography, such aslong-term impact of AMTRAK serviceand where U.S. government agenciesand foreign ministries appear to re-solve long-term boundary disputes ordisaster issues. At the same time, issuesrelating to the sea coast or sea bottom,the development of urban centers, themovement of people, and locations offamilies in the 19th century, the nu-merous conflicts/wars and their out-come by battle, the development of

During a typical year, the Geogra-phy and Map Division provides a re-production of a map to respond toCongressional queries, prepares scan-ned copies from its large collection forCongress and prepares maps on de-mand using geographic informationsystems technology to provide agraphic record where none existed be-fore. The same challenges regardingdirections of cartography, in the in-creasingly digital age, that are impact-ing the profession also impact thework of the division, as collecting con-cerns now include considerations re-garding access, archiving, serving,

A map can be drawn anywhere! A powder horn contains a 1762 British mapof Habana, Cuba and the Mohawk-Hudson River valley prepared during theFrench and Indian War. Other examplesof maps on powder horns are found inthe Geography and Map Division.

T

knowledge and use of George Wash-ington’s land in Fairfax County, Vir-ginia and provides a three-dimen-sional overlay to the varied layers ofdata that are essential in under-standing location and potential useof property.

What is the role of the Library ofCongress, and the Geography andMap Division, vis a vis Congress?

The Library of Congress was formedin 1800 to serve as the Library to theCongress of the United States. Overthe centuries, it has emerged as thelargest research library in the world,acquiring research materials fromthroughout the world in support ofCongress’ needs. In addition, it servesas a major research institution avail-able for use by the general public andthroughout the world.

The Geography and Map Divisionis the largest map collection in theworld, with some 5.2 million maps,75,000 atlases, 500 globes and globegores, 3,000 three-dimensional (raisedrelief) models and more than 13,000(and growing) digital maps on com-pact disk. Its earliest original mapdates from the mid-14th century andthe earliest example of a map that itholds in a clay tablet reproduction isfrom 3000 B.C. Tigris Euphrates val-ley. At the same time, the divisionhas an extensive program to scanoriginal maps for the Web and an ac-tive program to prepare maps on de-mand for Congress.

A sheet from the 1507 world map by Martin Waldseemuller is the object of interest ofDr. John Hébert, Chief, Geography and Map Division, and Curtis Sumner, ExecutiveDirector of ACSM. This 12 sheet world map treasure is the first document on whichthe name America appears. The only known copy of the map is located in the Geog-raphy and Map Division, Library of Congress.

7PROFESSIONAL SURVEYOR MAGAZINE • October 2005

Martin Waldseemuller conducted a survey of this region of the Rhine Valley in theearly 16th century. He included this map in his 1513 compilation of Ptolemy’s Geographia atlas. John Hessler, Geography and Map Division staff member, is showndiscussing the map and the techniques employed by the surveyor.

Ginny Mason, cartographer in the Congressional Cartography Program, Geographyand Map Division,is shown reviewing one of her contributions made for Congress using GIS. Ms. Mason is the curator of the G&M/ACSM exhibition, Maps in Our Lives.

national parks in the U.S., the con-struction of railroad, canal, and auto-mobile routes, are topics that are re-searched routinely in the Geographyand Map Division. Its reading room isopened from 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Mon-day through Friday. Maps are verymuch a part of daily life in the Geogra-phy and Map Division.

The story of the exhibition relatedto George Washington is an interestingone and it was chosen because, in themap profession, most of us are awarethat our first president’s most consis-tent work throughout his life, was sur-veying. Examples of his cartographicefforts from the time he was 16 yearsold until two months before he diedare found in the Geography and MapDivision. We used George Washing-ton’s plats and his property as a jump-ing-off point in the exhibition to showour maps convey the use of a singleparcel of property over time, and thatthat use could be understood from the

confines of the Geography and MapDivision collection. Therefore, it ispossible to go back into time to uncov-er what preceded us here, who usedthe space and how, and to see howthat use has changed over time.

Our work on the exhibition wasmade possible by our close workingrelationship with ACSM. We both heldsimilar interests and purposes, that is,to provide a rich understanding ofMaps in Our Lives to a broad audience.That effort is actually daily work forboth the G&M Division and the ACSM.Both labor to convince those whoneed convincing to use maps in theirpresentations, and in their research tobetter understand the context ofevents and actions. And through theexhibition, it is possible to see a repre-sentative slice of the types of subjectsfor which a map tells it better.

The working relationship with theACSM staff and associates was impor-tant for another reason, and that wasto establish communications, not on-ly for an exhibition, but also for othermatters deemed important to both or-ganizations. Issues regarding the pre-servation of cartographic expression is

8 PROFESSIONAL SURVEYOR MAGAZINE • October 2005

FEATUREmore serious than ever, as new digitalmanifestations can be changed andlost rapidly. It is the mission of the Ge-ography and Map Division to docu-ment the history of cartography, inwhatever form it takes. It has the abili-ty to supply a record of the legacy thatgoes back to at least 3000 B.C. Whatwill be the legacy that the current gen-eration of map makers leave that canbe studied 100 years from now? Thatdilemma of what to collect, how tocollect it, how to archive it, how tomaintain access to it, is what con-fronts both those who make and thosewho collection cartographic expres-sion today.

One of the elements of the exhibi-tion that was most satisfying was theability to join the historical record, thatis, Washington’s 1766 survey of his landon Little Hunting Creek, with the cur-rent sight today using GIS. It proved tous that this combination of the paper

map, the historical map, and the cur-rent use of relevant data that goes intothe construction of a map, could becarried from one medium to the otherwithout losing its relevance. The fu-ture of map collections will be theability and with what facility throughwhich we can carry information relat-ed to a particular place on earththrough time. If we can successfullynegotiate the need to maintain thepast for comparative purposes, andfor modeling with the new depictionsof geospatial data in digital form, wewill have accomplished the ability tomaintain the relevance and utility ofcartographic data over time.

Between now and January 26, 2007,visitors are invited to view the exhibi-tion, Maps in Our Lives, in the corridorof the Geography and Map Division inthe James Madison Memorial Build-ing, Library of Congress, Monday-Fri-day 8:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Saturday 8:30

a.m.-6 p.m. The division is located inthe basement of that building, and theexhibition is mounted on the corridoron the basement level outside of thedivision. The number of objects isroughly 50 pieces, but each piece hasits own story and attraction. Maps arethat way. They are intended to be stud-ied personally, rather than as part of ageneral picture.

Therefore, the time needed to seethe exhibition can be as little as 30minutes or as much as several hours,depending on one’s interests. Whoevercomes will find something in the exhi-bition to delight and inform oneself.And, for those who come by the exhi-bition, an invitation is extended tocheck out the Geography and Map Di-vision reading room where a wholelarger world of cartography, surveying,geodesy, and GIS exist.

Photography and interview by Neil Sandler