Digital mapping library free exploration

The UK Legal Deposit Libraries have unveiled a new way of viewing large scale mapping, following the signing of an important agreement with Ordnance Survey.

The agreement ensures the libraries will continue to hold annual snapshots of detailed digital mapping of the whole of Great Britain.

The libraries collectively hold comprehensive archives of Ordnance Survey mapping dating back over two centuries. This was originally received in paper form and then microfilm, but in 1998 the shift was made towards purely digital data. Since 2006 this had meant receiving an OS MasterMap snapshot of Great Britain every year.

This entire archive of digital mapping, from 1998–2007, can now be explored and compared through a user-friendly viewer. This web-based program has been developed by the software company Dotted Eyes, using ResponseMX and over 1.5 terabytes of mapping data loaded using their InterpOSe and TranspOSe tools.

OS MasterMap is highly detailed, allowing precise recording of landscape change over time. It can be viewed in all of the six UK Legal Deposit Libraries, and a limited number of customised A4‑sized colour printouts of any area can be made for private, non-commercial use.

Further information can be found at:

British Library: www.bl.uk/collections/map_digital.html#OS

National Library of Scotland: www.nls.uk/collections/maps/subjectinfo/os-mastermap.html

More information on OS MasterMap can be found at: http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/osmastermap/

Source : http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/