Historical Maps, Archival Resources, & Boundary files
Open Data Explorers
- Open Data Impact Map
- ESRI Open Data
- Douglas County GIS Open Data
- ResourceWatch – Open access to global datasets
Historical Boundary Files
- Natural Earth Data
- Data Basin – Mapping Platform and Digital Repository of Global Environmental Data
- Georeferenced Databases for Accessing Historical Data (GEORIA)
- National Historical GIS, GIS-compatible boundary files for the United States (1790-2013)
- Atlas of Urban Expansion
- Historical Urban Ecological GIS Data Portal
- Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
Historical Maps
There are an increasing number of online historical map collections featuring scans of maps, plans, and globes from archives and personal collections.
- David Rumsey
- Smithsonian Natural History Museum Maps Catalog
- John Carter Brown Library – Map Collections
- Harvard University – Digital Map Collection
- American Antiquarian Society – Maps and Atlases
- Boston Public Library – Digital Map Collection
- Old Maps Online
- Historic Map Works Residential Genealogy
- USGS Topoview – Historical topographic maps
- New York Public Library Open Access maps
- Library of Congress – Map Division
- American Geographical Society Library. ‘Digital Map Collection’
- Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection – Online map collections covering the world, countries, cities, etc. from the University of Texas, Austin.
- Calisphere A World of Digital Resources – An excellent online resource to search for historical maps from California and Los Angeles. Be sure to use the word “maps” when searching.
Social Scientific Data
- Cornell University Clearinghouse for social scientific data available on the internet
- Housing Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Data portal – home loans since 2007
Historical Census Data
- Historical Enumeration District Maps and Descriptions – For building census layers before 1940.
- African Population Database From 1960. Registration required. UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) & Columbia University’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network.
- Afro-Louisiana slave database From 1719. Dr. Gwendolyn Hall, Professor Emerita at Rutgers.
- British India population, migration, and trade From 1840. University of Chicago’s Digital South Asia Library.
- Canadian census data For 1852 and 1881. Universite de Montreal
- US Census Bureau – Census data and associated TIGER/Line Shapefile
- European economic, demographic, and environmental statistics From 1980. UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe)
- Great Britain socioeconomic and census data – From 1801 to 1961 in interactive map format. University of Portsmouth, Great Britain Historical GIS Project.
- Belgian Historical GIS
- Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) – USA From 1850. A project dedicated to collecting and distributing census data; this is the United States branch. Minnesota Population Center.
- Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)-International From 1960s. A project dedicated to collecting and distributing census data; this is the international branch. Minnesota Population Center.
- Israel socioeconomic data From 1950s. Request permission in writing. Data is in SPSS, SAS, STATA formats. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israeli Social Sciences Data Center.
- Japan Historical Statistics A large collection of social science data from 1868 to date. In Excel format. Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
- Latin America socioeconomic data From 1900 to 2000. University of Oxford Latin American Economic History database.
- Norwegian census data For 1865, 1875, and 1900. University of Tromsø, Norwegian Historical Data Center.
- Population Reference Bureau Datafinder 21st century data. PRB is an organization which informs people around the world about population, health, and the environment. Included with current data regarding germane issues such as the spread of AIDS and projections regarding population growth in various parts of the
- Scottish statistical accounts From 1791. Full access exclusively for subscribers. Non-subscribers may browse scanned pages. University of Edinburgh.
- Soviet Nationalities data From 1926. Need SPSS or SAS & free registration to view. University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- United Nations Data Searches 22 UN databases, with over 60 million social science records. United Nations.
- US mapping and census data From 1790. The National Historical Geographic Information System project. Part of University of Minnesota’s Population Center.
- Vancouver and parts of British Columbia census data From 1871. Vancouver Island University.
- World historical data on labor Between 1500-2000. Click on “Database with data on cross section 1900” for a large access file. International Institute of Social History: A Global Collaboratory on the History of Labour Relations in the period 1500-2000
- World population, GDP, and Per capita GDP From 1 AD – 2006. Click on links under Historical Statistics for excel files. Angus Maddison, University of Groningen.
- World social science data Include categories such as census, health care, and social indicators. Registration is required to view data. University of Michigan’s ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research).
Nebraska Specific
- Durham Museum Photo Archive – Best single resource for Omaha/Nebraska-specific historical images. Cannot download high-resolution images.
- Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission – Portal to historical resources on Omaha’s urban history. Includes links to historical maps, digitized books and historical images, as well as historical heritage information.
- DigitalCommons@UNO – Data portal for current and historical scholarship on Omaha produced by UNO
- NebraskaMap – provides public and private access to peer-reviewed Nebraska Spatial Data Infrastructure (NESDI) and other statewide geodata, maps, and GIS web services for Nebraska.
- Nebraska DOT Map Library – Includes current and historical transportation maps, including highways, interstates, and traffic flow
- Nebraska View – Nebraska’s state node for AmericaView, a nationwide U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) program that focuses on providing easy, low-cost access to remotely-sensed data and promoting remote sensing education, research and applications such as Landsat images, digital aerial photographs, and digital elevation data) and technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS).
- Douglas County
- Douglas County Historical Society
- Maps, Plats, & Atlases (for viewing on location)
- Newspapers, Omaha city directories, assorted documents and artifacts
- Placing Segregation Project
- Omaha Public Library –
- Historic Local Maps (for viewing at downtown location)
- Digital Collections
- Online Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (Omaha and Nebraska cities)
- Online Omaha World Herald (1878-1983)
- Maps and Atlases (1854-1900)
- Yearbooks, phone books, city directories
- Map Gallery
- Nebraska Public Records
- GIS Maps – census data, elevation lines, ortho photography, political boundaries, land surveys
- Survey Maps – maps, plats, and field notes
- Nebraska Census State Data Center – Host: University of Nebraska Center for Public Affairs Research
- Nebraska Land Use Data
- Land use GeoTIFF, Shapefiles, PDFS (UNL, 2005)
- Conservation and Survey Division – Host: University of Nebraska School of Natural Resources Conservation and Survey Division
- Department of Natural Resources: Data Bank – Host: State of Nebraska Department of Natural Resources
- GAP Analysis Program – Nebraska- Host: United States Geological Survey and The University of Idaho
- GIS Data and Metadata – Host: United States Department of the Interior National Park Service
- Nebraska Agricultural Statistics Service- Host: United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service
Open Access Imagery
- External Library Resources
- http://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/library-resources/list-of-open-access-image-sources/
- http://libguides.hofstra.edu/c.php?g=323506&p=2168048
- http://libguides.library.drexel.edu/images
- Wellcome Library– 100,000 art and medicine images available online for open use paintings, etchings, early photography and advertisements
- Digital Public Library of America
- Museums/Aggregating Sites
- ArtUK – Showcase for art in every UK public collection
- Watercolour World – Global water colors database of images before 1900
- Rijkmuseum – One of the largest collections of Open Access Imagery in the world, largely Dutch images
- The Walters Art Museum – Baltimore collection of a variety of open access imagery.
- Google Art Project – Explore the Collections of dozens of museums and libraries from around the world
- Digital Public Library of America – Public collection of digital media
- Europeana – Online multimedia library draws on millions of artifacts from European museums, archives, and libraries
- Metropolitan Museum of Art – 400,000 images available for free download for non-commercial use as a part of its Open Access for Scholarly Content initiative
- Getty Open Image Database – 4,600 high-resolution images of the J Paul Getty Museum’s collection free to use, modify, and publish for any purpose
- National Gallery of Art
- LIFE Photo Archive – millions of images, searchable through Google 1750s – today
- Museum of New Zealand – 30,000 images available for download and re-use in high resolution
- NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Photo Library – Multiple galleries available, from National Weather Service to Geodetic Survey to Fisheries
- NARA (National Archives and Records Administration)– Linked via online exhibits from San Francisco Fire to Civil War to Watergate
- USDA (US Dept of Agriculture) -2,000 images – copyright free – public domain
- NASA– Image search and galleries
