Schroeder Map Collection at the Marin County Library

[Ian Wilson]

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to visit the Anne T. Kent California Room at the Marin County Library. That’s where Bill Schroeder’s collection of maps is now housed.

Bill and I had lunch together before going over to the library to meet with Laurie Thompson, the librarian in charge of the collection. I got a firsthand tour of the facilities and a tutorial on doing research for a project I have near Ross, in Marin County.

The depth of the collection is impressive and the passion Laurie and Bill have for the collection and preserving it for surveyors, historians and other interested people is clearly evident.

One of the files I looked through had a set of field notes from some young guy, from back in January of 1975, who performed a boundary survey near the property I am dealing with. Those notes will be invaluable to help us locate survey marks and property lines when the crew heads to field on our project. I won’t embarrass Phil Danskin by showing the notes, but suffice it to say that I am going to share them with our survey group as examples of what they should be keeping and why. More than 40 years later, Phil’s notes, measurements and sketches will be critical for our work.

The collection is simply an incredible resource for all of us. I cannot thank Bill enough for sticking with the idea of sharing these with the public. And, yes, in the interest of full disclosure, he did get remuneration. It amounted to less than I remember paying for copied map sheets at San Diego County nearly 30 years ago.

Laurie has a blog article about the collection at: https://annetkent.kontribune.com/articles/6657.

The collection is now in a huge room, in the satellite facility near the Sherriff’s Office. It’s open on Thursdays between 2 & 4 in the afternoon. I believe you will need to contact Laurie to arrange access. Perhaps someone can chime in with contact info.

Also, the library is in dire need of map file drawers. If you have any of them and would be willing to part with them, please let us know. If you’re nearby, perhaps we can arrange for pick up.

One of the goals for the collection is to get it all scanned, catalogued and on line. In order to do that, they need a large format flatbed scanner and a book scanner. Many of the maps are just too fragile to run through a normal large format scanner. The books need to be scanned on a proper book scanner to prevent further damage (some of the field books go back into the 1800’s). Our CLSA finances are not healthy enough for us to underwrite some of this work, but, perhaps, someone will know of grant money or methods to assist in further preserving and digitizing of this valuable resource.

Thanks, Laurie & Bill, for the tour and the fun times in the maps and field books.

Ian

[David Kendall]

I've scanned a few old maps. The largest scanner I found was 42" wide. I found one at HSU and one at Caltrans. CalTrans had a clear protective sleeve that worked well to keep the old maps from getting torn by the rollers and it moved slower than the HSU model. The 44+" maps will have to wait a few more years.

I've never seen or heard of a flatbed scanner that large. If there was one it would be very expensive. If you could find a smaller one and do the map in sections then that would be your most likely solution. There are services in SF which photograph the maps in small sections (which can then be digitally stitched together) but that gets expensive as well (and distorts scale). Old field books are much easier but you still need that elusive machine operator that actually cares about the product and it all has to go in a versatile index or it's no good to anyone because you can't find it. Costs of all of this add up fast. Then you have a storage problem which you have discovered.

Over several years of scanning old maps and sifting through old job files (mostly on my own time and borrowing equipment) I've discovered that while many are appreciative of the work and the results, not many people are interested in helping, there is a big problem with indexing standards, and there is a great wealth of archives out there in the community.

I feel like CLSA ought to make archival infrastructure (expanding digitized map collections) a statewide priority. I haven't found many people who share my sentiment or perhaps they are unwilling to commit to participate on a volunteer basis. Vast amounts of old files and institutional knowledge are going to the dumpster or grave.

I think this is the most valuable contribution CLSA can make to our profession right now. If you do one thing to make a mark as CLSA president this would be a worthy endeavor. I'm optimistic that you realize the value of all of these old records.

My grand scheme (no longer secret) is to scoop up as many of these old records (not hard to figure out which ones are worth keeping) as I can and create my own private collection of Northern California survey records. I don't believe anyone else is going to do it and it may give me a competitive advantage over the long term but that is debatable...

Or maybe we could just make it all up as we go. After all is said and done, unless it's known by all history is really only what the last guy says it was!

[Jim Frame]

Thinking out loud here, the skeletal steps to a solution:

1. Locate a suitable flatbed scanner. There must be some surveying and/or engineering offices (public agency or private company) -- preferably in the Bay Area -- that have appropriate flatbed scanners. If a personal contact can be found at one of these, scanner time might be arranged. Even if the available scanner isn't big enough to accommodate the largest maps, it probably makes sense to scan the subset that will fit.

2. Locate a book scanner. I've never seen one, nor heard of their use in a surveying/engineering setting, so borrowing one might not be feasible. A quick look suggests that a usable book scanner can be had for less than $1k, so maybe an outright purchase makes sense and a fundraising effort put into place.

3. Schedule the scanner time and assemble a list of volunteers. The work will involve cataloging, packing, transport, scanning, repacking, and return. (Book scanning might be done at the library itself, which would minimize the logistics.)

4. Work out a file naming system. *Before* scan day!

If this collection were in my area of practice I'd probably want to get actively involved, but I think it'd be better for everyone if folks in or near Marin County were to take it on. It sounds like a great project, though.

[William Magee]

Check out Issue 164 of the Cal Surveyor. There is an interesting article in there rdgarding an alternative method of digital map preservation that might be of use.

[Jim Frame]

That looks like a viable alternative, and could potentially avoid the need to transport the maps.

For those interested, here's a direct link to issue 164: http://www.californiasurveyors.org/cals ... URV164.pdf

[mpallamary]

I created the website www.tiepoints.com in the hopes the web portal would provide a venue for linking and storing old maps and other data. Any thoughts on its viability?

[Edward M Reading]

Thanks for the link Jim. I may have to give this a try on some of our unrecorded maps, I already have all of the gear.

[Jim Frame]

Any thoughts on its viability?

I've referenced the site a number of times while searching for maps, and I think it has a role in organizing the references to map repositories. However, I believe that it's preferable to have the actual map resources curated by public agencies or -- second best -- non-profit organizations with a mission that includes providing public access to historic documents. Leaving these resources in private hands jeopardizes sustainable public access due to the more ephemeral nature of individuals and their interests.

[Peter Ehlert]

I suggest contacting Bancroft Library for some expert guidance... maybe they can even give some assistance.

at one time they housed the original Rancho Diseños, provided access for viewing, and a copy service. I believe they have gone digital.

[Anthony Maffia]

That was going to be my suggestion. A sample of their map collection can be viewed at:
Maps of Private Land Grant Cases of California, [ca. 1840-ca. 1892]

[Ian Wilson]

Gentlemen:

Thank you for your comments.

Consider, however, that the people involved fro the Marin County Library, are professional archivists well familiar with protocols, methods, equipment, etc. My request was for: a) flat files to help store the collection; and, b) any suggestions for funding, particularly from grants, that surveyors may know about for this type of function.

The library now has 30,000+ maps and a few thousand field books in its collection. While a portion of these are ANSI B or smaller, there are also maps larger than ANSI E. Some of the maps are well preserved and in great shape. Others are fading and flaking apart.

Ian

[Anthony Maffia]

UCB is just across the bridge, and their library and museum departments certainly have the $$, so they may have available a large flat bed scanner.

[Peter Ehlert]

Grant Money? stranger things have happened

[schroed]

Ian, It was our pleasure to show you the archive last week.

I like to give the forum some background on it. I’m the last in a chain of surveyors going back 150 years, 11 prominent surveyors before me, including 5 County Surveyors, passed the growing archive onto the next. I decided that it would be best for it to be passed to community ownership; the County, our chapter, a LLC or private “guild” were all considered and fortunately the best option prevailed when the County took ownership at the beginning of the year.

The deal was structured so all stakeholders would have skin in the game; the County paid 60%, the Marin Chapter paid 20%, and individual surveyors contributed 20%. My skin consisted of a discounted price and a good amount of time spent on politics, curation and docenting. When historians really looked through the archive so many historic maps and documents were discovered that it was clearly a steeply discounted price, but I’m not sorry about that at all. From the beginning this was about creating a legacy and there is a lesson for us all in it: beyond the value to surveyors and our clients, the community has historic and cultural interests in our archival documents. For anyone or any county considering preserving historic surveys - don’t overlook historians and cultural groups, they are a great resource for expertise, assistance and funding. These other groups are used to applying for grants and can be of great help in acquiring scanners and other equipment, and there are a lot more sources for help if your project has historic or cultural aspects.

The archive is now under the professional management of the Marin County Library and I trust them to maintain it for public use for many generations to come. At present it is open on Thursday afternoons when historian Dewey Livingston and myself will be there to assist you. This arrangement will last for the remainder of the year, and will be expanded as more docents are trained.

There is no cost to use the archive.

William Schroeder

[John Williams, PLS]

Oh how fabulous this sounds. Of all the CA counties I work in (+44), Marin has always had this stigma of "better know the area" and actually is missing in my 'been there done that' resume. whew.
Ian--Thanks for posting the contact info for public awareness. I presume almost all of us love the historical value of the surveying profession in California "following the footsteps". Our State history isn't very old, by preserving these records we may be capturing a piece of history that would've been lost to the dumpster after retirement or death. Some of the records may be worthless, some may be worthwhile- I'm looking forward to just having them available. Thanks to all in Marin who have contributed.
"...thousands of field books"--who was where, the day I was born? etc... I've checked that out in our company collection dating to the early sixties, (three man crew setting local highway grades, of which I worked 2 of them with 30 years later).
I'm in the process of contacting in our local historical society to see what they may have of past County Surveyors' records (likely gone), private maps, etc. Not much in my locale pretty rural and Federally owned.
The history is great, Thanks all,

John Williams, PLS
Mono County-- Eastern Sierra historic maps anyone? Fremont? Von Schmidt? Charles W. Fulton? let's go hunting / working / hobby, I mean researching.

[Ian Wilson]

And from an email sent to me by Mrs. Thompson, who has been unable to register her account on our site due to the admin roving her registration:

An appointment is required to view the collection as so many people want to use it and –for the moment- our hours are limited.

It is best for a researcher to send an e-mail to these 3 addresses to set up an appointment:
ljthompson@marincounty.org
dlive@svn.net
schroed@sbcglobal.net

This will cover our bases in case someone is out of the office.

Ian

[Ian Wilson]

BTW:

The library is still looking for donations of flat files. If anyone has any left or knows of any, please contact me, Bill Schroeder or Mrs. Thompson.

Thanks!