SANBORN FIRE INSURANCE MAPS

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps are a valuable resource for researching local history. They were designed to indicate the potential risk of fire for metropolitan area structures and edifices. The presentation of the maps is similar to a large format plat, showing a sections of municipal area that contain such information as, the outline of the buildings, the size, shape, height, construction materials, location of windows and doors, and what function the building serves. The street names of the particular view are noted as well as the address numbers, sidewalk widths, boundaries, and building use. More information is given in the textual information (such as building materials, reinforced walls, etc.)

USING THE SANBORN MAPSFOUR VOLUME SET OF THE MAPS WITH INDEX

(Located at the John F. Germany Library, 2 West)We have some of the original, hardcopy, Sanborn Maps and an index to the four volume set, in the History and Genealogy Collection of the John F. Germany Library downtown. These maps date from 1931 – July 1951. The maps are colored coded in addition to many other notations. Also the hard copy shows the paste-overs that the company did when there was a change of structure or demolition of such. A key to the symbols on the maps appear at the beginning of each volume, on the page entitled "Graphic Map of Volumes" at the very beginning of each book.

ON-LINE DIGITAL SANBORN MAPS

(via Databases and Websites)The on-line maps do not contain paste-overs, but they do have the Sanborn Maps as far back as 1867 which enables the viewer to compare the areas of differing years. In order to access the Sanborn Maps on-line one needs to go to " Online Resources" from the "catalog" menu, then click on "Databases and Websites." Choose "Genealogy," from the left hand side of the page, and scroll down to "Digital Sanborn Maps." When one clicks on this site a page appears that says Digital Sanborn Maps 1867 – 1970. On the bottom you can click on the box that says "Browse Maps," "About The Sanborn Maps," or "Help With This Collection." Choose the one that is most appropriate to your needs.

SANBORN MAPS ON MICROFILM

(Located at John F. Germany Library)The Sanborn maps are on microfilm, as well, for major cities in the following states: Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia. Assistance with microfilm is offered in History and Genealogy.

INDEX TO ALL SANBORN MAPS

The Sanborn index is broken down by "Streets" i.e. 102 E. Seventh Avenue, "Specials" (which is the name of the structure) i.e. Tampa Public Library. Also there is an index for "Additions and Subdivisions." i.e. Parkland Estates. The index will direct you to a volume and/or sheet number. When you click on the appropriate sheet for your search you will see the address or building for which you had been looking.The Sanborn site has a thorough and detailed "Legend" screen containing explication of the notations on the maps. Also, there is a "Help" screen which enables you in your search. How to use this collection is explained in the section of that name.

American Folklife Center: Traditional Music and Spoken Word Catalog

Traditional Music and Spoken Word Catalog

from the American Memory Project at the Library of Concress.

This searchable database provides bibliographic information on approximately 34,000 ethnographic sound recordings. Most were recorded between 1933 and 1950… The majority of these are lacquer and aluminum-based instantaneous disc recordings made between 1933 and 1950. The handful of collections that fall outside this date range is described at the end of this page.

The card catalog represented in this online database was first created by Work Projects Administration (WPA) workers in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and continued by the Archive of Folk Song (now part of the American Folklife Center) staff into the early 1960s. Its purpose was to provide the public with access to the thousands of individual songs, tunes, folk tales, sermons, monologues, and life stories in the Archive’s collections.

Included are the seminal field recordings associated with John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax’s Library of Congress collecting work (Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Jelly Roll Morton), and Alan Lomax’s less well-known field collections in Haiti in 1936 to 1937 and in the upper Midwest of the United States in 1938. There are hundreds of well-known and lesser-known treasures by other notable collectors including Herbert Halpert, Zora Neale Hurston, Henrietta Yurchenco, Vance Randolph, and Helen Creighton, among many others. The catalog also reflects exchange projects with institutions outside the United States, notably the Discoteca Pública Municipal de São Paulo Collection (1938-1943) of field recordings from Brazil; and field recordings collected in Oceania.

You can find the American Memory Project as a linked website on the Library's Databases & Websites under the Subject Guide for History.