people in vermont libraries
     
In This Issue
From the State Librarian
Libraries Partnering with VT Health Connect
VT Public Libraries Trustees Conference Nov. 2
Catamount Library Network Open Public Meeting Oct. 24
VTLIB Awards Grant to GMLC for e-Books
IBM Helps Libraries Geek Social Media
Rural Libraries Conference Showcases Best Practices
VTLIB Begins Massive Microfilming Project
More Help on ADA and Building Issues
October, Car Care Month: Think Chilton
"Fizz, Boom, Read!" Materials Arriving Soon at Public Libraries
VPR Features DCF Award
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps Available
For Sale
Helpful Links
Join Our Mailing List

topFrom the State Librarian 

MartaReidVTStateLibrarianIt will come as no surprise when I say that Vermont librarians are a wonderful group of people. Librarians, as a rule, are smart and curious -- and we care about our communities, champion intellectual freedom, foster life-long learning and embrace new technologies so that we can better connect Vermonters with our vast -- and ever-changing -- array of library services and information resources. I certainly have not met all the librarians we have in this state working in our public, school, academic and special libraries, but from time to time I learn something that makes me want to "shout out" to particular folks in the Vermont library community and celebrate their success. Read more
Libraries Partnering with VT Health Connect

vhc logo Libraries in Vermont are active community partners with the Vermont Health Connect (VHC) efforts to help Vermonters understand and access the healthcare marketplace during the enrollment period that started October 1. Read more 

VT Public Libraries Trustees Conference Nov. 2

The Vermont Public Libraries Trustees annual conference will be held on Saturday, November 2, at the State House in Montpelier. Stuart Comstock-Gay, President and CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation, will be the keynote speaker. Breakout sessions will follow -- Paul Gillies on library law in Vermont, Rob Fish of the Vermont Digital Economy Project, as well as others on a variety of topics relevant to Vermont library boards. Joining the trustees this year are Vermont's Friends of Libraries along with some library directors and of course, there will be the annual trivia contest with prizes. For details and the registration form, visit: http://libraries.vermont.gov/libraries/trustees. Contact Christine Friese ([email protected]) for more information.

Catamount Library Network
Open Public Meeting Oct. 24

The Catamount Library Network (CLN) will next meet on October 24 at 9:30 AM in Ludlow at the Fletcher Memorial Library. This meeting is designated as the consortium's Annual Meeting, where members of the five person governing Board are elected, and officers-President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer-are elected. Annual membership dues for 2014 will also be set. This meeting, like all CLN meetings, is open to the public. Contact Jill Tofferi, CLN Secretary, via email at [email protected] for meeting information. Plans are in the works for a Catamount Library Network website that will carry meeting announcements and other useful information. Watch this space for information in upcoming newsletters. Read more

VTLIB Awards Grant to GMLC for e-Books  
State Librarian Marty Reid has awarded a grant of $10,000 to the Green Mountain Library Consortium (GMLC) for the purchase of e-books. GMLC offers downloadable audio books and e-books to member libraries as part of their subscription program with Overdrive, an e-book vendor for libraries. The grant was made possible with federal Library Services & Technology Act funds which come to the Department of Libraries from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Read more

IBM Helps Libraries Geek Social Media  

Library directors, trustees and staff from 10 public libraries spent a day at the Brown Public Library in Northfield with consultants from IBM, learning to leverage the power of various social media tools to benefit library outreach and fundraising efforts. This is the second such workshop provided by IBM as part of the Vermont Digital Economy Project, and the first with libraries. Read more
Rural Libraries Conference
Showcases Best Practices   

ARSL attendees The Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) held its 2013 annual conference in Omaha, Nebraska, on September 25-28. For this year's conference the Vermont Department of Libraries awarded six grants to public librarians from around the state, an increase from the two grants awarded for the 2012 ARSL conference that took place in Raleigh, NC. Read more 

VTLIB Begins Massive Microfilming Project

With the advent of online news, many newspapers have stopped preserving their backlogs, or "morgues," as they are known in the business. Because of both bottom line business concerns and the mistaken notion that online content replaces preservation, more and more newspapers are eschewing microfilm as a means to access their back files. The impact of this for the public is dramatic: recent years of many Vermont newspapers are unavailable to Vermonters. This is a change from more than a half century of access and preservation, and leaves a gap in the collective history of Vermont. VTLIB is set to remedy this problem. Read more 

More Help on ADA and Building Issues   

Libraries with questions about the Vermont electrical codes, plumbing codes, the ADA, and general safety have regional support available. From the website http://firesafety.vermont.gov, the Division of Fire Safety provides a number of services related to the safety of residents and guests of the State. The Division has four Regional Offices that provide the review of construction documents, permitting, inspections, safety education and training, data management, product or site investigation, and response to emergencies. The Fire Academy provides training, certification, data management, and training resources for the fire service, and support of the Fire Service Training Council. Read more

October, Car Care Month: Think Chilton  
chilton logo October is Car Care Month and libraries have long provided mechanics and car owners with access to information on their cars. Now libraries that subscribe to Vermont Online Library (VOL) offer patrons access to famed Chilton's car maintenance guides, from anywhere with Internet access. Read more
fizz boom read logo Materials Arriving Soon at Public Libraries   
In the summer of 2014, libraries all over the country will be celebrating science by participating in the themes "Fizz, Boom, Read" for children, "Spark a Reaction" for teens, and "Literary Elements" for adults. VTLIB will send out packets of summer materials by the end of October to all public libraries that submitted 2013 Summer Reading Program statistics and evaluations. Also in the packet will be an Upstart catalog featuring dozens of items to purchase, a VTLIB order form with the materials that the state provides FREE for public libraries, and the annual listing of programs created by Vermont performers to address the theme. Libraries that apply for a summer program may receive a $100 grant to offset the cost. Read more
VPR Features DCF Award   
On October 7, Vermont Public Radio aired the first of a monthly series celebrating the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award program, Vermont's children's choice award for grades 4-8 sponsored by the Vermont Department of Libraries. The program is called Dorothy's List: A Monthly Series for Young Readers and is aired during Vermont Edition (noon - 1 pm; re-broadcast at 7 pm). The first program featured Vermonter S.S. Taylor and her book The Expeditioners. Amy Kolb Noyes, the producer, interviewed both the author and students at U-32 Middle School in East Montpelier. The students had questions for S.S. Taylor which she then answered during her interview. Read more
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps Available
Through State Library   
D.A. Sanborn
D.A. Sanborn
London has stood firm through plagues, revolutions and counter-revolutions, but until the change away from wood as the primary building material, this ancient city was also susceptible to conflagrations against which Londoners had no defense. Fires destroyed entire sections of London, two even earning the descriptor "great" -- the Great Fire of 1135 and the Great Fire of 1212. Other significant fires occurred in 1220, 1227, 1299 and 1633. Some of the buildings lost in the fire of 1633 were never replaced and provided an unintentional firebreak for the Great Fire of London which occurred over three days in 1666.
Read more
saleFor Sale: 2013 Laws of Vermont, 72nd Session  

The Department of Libraries now has the 2013 Laws of Vermont, Seventy-Second Biennial Session available for sale to Vermont residents and libraries.


$10.00 soft bound (plus tax $.60) - $10.60
$22.50 board bound (plus tax $1.35) - $23.85

 

Sales tax is not required for sales to libraries or other tax-exempt entities. Shipping is included in the price.

 

To order, please contact Linda Bullard: 802-828-2738 or [email protected].


ONLY COMPLETE ARTICLES BEYOND THIS POINT
MARTYFrom the Vermont State Librarian

It will come as no surprise when I say that Vermont librarians are a wonderful group of people. Librarians, as a rule, are smart and curious -- and we care about our communities, champion intellectual freedom, foster life-long learning and embrace new technologies so that we can better connect Vermonters with our vast -- and ever-changing -- array of library services and information resources. I certainly have not met all the librarians we have in this state working in our public, school, academic and special libraries, but from time to time I learn something that makes me want to "shout out" to particular folks in the Vermont library community and celebrate their success. So this month I want to give a "hail and well done" to some librarians for their special accomplishments:

  • Denise Wentz (Allen Brook School, Williston), Judith Kaplan (School Library Media Studies Sequence, UVM), and the Executive Board of the Vermont School Library Association (VSLA), for their campaign to make sure that school libraries -- and trained school librarians -- are included in the new Education Quality Standards for Vermont schools.
  • Laura Crain (St. Michael's College), recipient of a Lund Building Block award for her "tireless commitment" as a volunteer in the Storybook Program through Lund's Kids-a-Part program, helping incarcerated mothers connect with their children through books and reading.
  • Robert Resnik (Fletcher Free Library, Burlington), for his recently published book Legendary Locals of Burlington (Arcadia Publishing) which includes short pieces about citizens -- both contemporary and historic -- who have made their mark on Vermont's "Queen City."

I know there are many more librarians out there who have won awards or achieved milestones, and we'd like to recognize them in this monthly newsletter. Know someone who is worthy of a VTLIB "shout out"? Send the information to Teresa Faust, our newsletter editor, at: [email protected].

 

Marty Reid  

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fiberconnectLibraries Partnering with VT Health Connect 

Libraries in Vermont are active community partners with the Vermont Health Connect (VHC) efforts to help Vermonters understand and access the healthcare marketplace during the enrollment period that started October 1.

 

Working with Navigators, Certified Application Counselors (CACs) and VHC outreach coordinators, public libraries throughout the state are hosting community forums, inviting navigators into library spaces to help community members register for healthcare and guiding users in the library to the Health Connect website and phone lines. Here are just a few examples:

  • John Flores, Director of the Dover Free Library, has asked regional navigators to provide help on a regularly scheduled basis in the library, allowing library users to plan ahead to meet in a central community location, discuss their healthcare needs and register with a navigator's guidance.
  • Marti Fiske, Director of the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library in Williston, hosted a well-attended Saturday community forum and planned to do another. But local business owners let her know that while they would like to attend, Saturday is prime business time for retailers. So the library is working with Devon Ayers, Outreach & Education Manager at VHC. Learning that this type of forum is in high demand, Marti suggested using the new videoconferencing equipment that several libraries recently received through a Google grant to the Department of Libraries. The plan is to have a navigator or CAC at each location around the state, able to answer questions on site after a centralized video presentation.
  • Aldrich Public Library has regularly scheduled hours with both a navigator and a CAC in Barre, anticipating high demand.
  • Among the other libraries that have had or will soon be hosting a community forum or a Navigator Q&A are:
    • Kellogg Hubbard Library, Montpelier
    • Arvin A. Brown Public Library, Richford
    • Charlotte Public Library
    • Cobleigh Library, Lyndonville
    • Bennington Free Library
    • Fairfax Community Library

View the VHC Events calendar at http://info.healthconnect.vermont.gov/events to find an upcoming event in your area.

 

Questions about ways your library can help? Contact Christine Friese (802-828-2714 or [email protected]).

 

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catamountCatamount Library Network Open Public Meeting Oct. 24 

The Catamount Library Network (CLN) will next meet on October 24 at 9:30 AM in Ludlow at the Fletcher Memorial Library. This meeting is designated as the consortium's Annual Meeting, where members of the five person governing Board are elected, and officers-President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer-are elected. Annual membership dues for 2014 will also be set. This meeting, like all CLN meetings, is open to the public. Contact Jill Tofferi, CLN Secretary, via email at [email protected] for meeting information. Plans are in the works for a Catamount Library Network website that will carry meeting announcements and other useful information. Watch this space for information in upcoming newsletters.

 

In other CLN news, the group reached a significant milestone on September 30, as the final two CLN pilot project libraries went live on the system: Rutland Free Library and Fletcher Memorial Library. With all five of the original libraries up and running, Catamount reached its initial goal of creating a multi-library Koha consortium with patron-initiated holds, shared cataloging, and mutual democratic governance.

 

Getting all five of the original Catamount libraries live on the shared system is an important step, but it is not the end of growth for the consortium. The CLN is expanding its membership to add the Bennington Free Library in January 2014, and stands to add several more libraries in the coming year. The Catamount pilot project is envisioned as a model for cooperative cataloging and democratic, participatory governance in a consortium environment. Expanding this model to new libraries will be paramount for the CLN for 2014.

 

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VTLIB Awards Grant to GMLC for e-Booksvol

State Librarian Marty Reid has awarded a grant of $10,000 to the Green Mountain Library Consortium (GMLC) for the purchase of e-books. GMLC offers downloadable audio books and e-books to member libraries as part of their subscription program with Overdrive, an e-book vendor for libraries. The grant was made possible with federal Library Services & Technology Act funds which come to the Department of Libraries from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

 

This is the second $10,000 grant that the Department of Libraries has awarded to the GMLC for the purchase of e-books. GMLC Executive Director Lisa von Kann reported that in 2012 the Consortium purchased 426 e-books with funds from the first grant. In her report to the Department of Libraries, von Kann wrote that between June 2012 and May 2013, readers downloaded 41,543 e-books from the GMLC Overdrive program. During the same period readers also downloaded 37,812 Overdrive audio books. The GMLC Collection Development team will make the e-book selections using funds from the new grant. Grant funds must be expended within one year.

 

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certsIBM Helps Libraries Geek Social Media

Library directors, trustees and staff from 10 public libraries spent a day at the Brown Public Library in Northfield with consultants from IBM, learning to leverage the power of various social media tools to benefit library outreach and fundraising efforts. This is the second such workshop provided by IBM as part of the Vermont Digital Economy Project, and the first with libraries.

Most attendees already use Facebook and several use Twitter in addition to their library websites. This workshop focused on identifying potential audiences when using social media, growing that audience and planning the content for ongoing communications or targeted campaigns. The consultants also offered hints on improving existing sites and accounts, from updating background images to providing followers with actions to take such as donating money, "liking" the Facebook page, or participating in an online discussion.

Richmond Library Director Rebecca Mueller reported, "The persona exercise was very useful in defining specific audiences." Lynne Fonteneau-McCann, Director of the Bennington Free Library, said her first task will be finding extra time for a staff member to work on social media. And Waterbury's Mary Kasamatsu said that understanding the time needed to effectively use these tools, two hours a week per application, was important for planning.

The IBM consultants will now provide a preliminary plan for libraries to implement. Over the coming six months, attendees will work on one or more of the social media tools and then come back together for a review of their outcomes and to share best practices. These plans and practices will then be shared with all Vermont libraries to help improve communications and fundraising campaigns.
 

 

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erateRural Libraries Conference Showcases Best Practices        

The Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) held its 2013 annual conference in Omaha, Nebraska, on September 25-28. For this year's conference the Vermont Department of Libraries awarded six grants to public librarians from around the state, an increase from the two grants awarded for the 2012 ARSL conference that took place in Raleigh, NC.  

 

Vermont's six public librarians attended a variety of sessions on everything from starting a seed library, making community connections, and using tech tools, to library gaming and fundraising. For a complete list of programs and for session handouts go to: http://arsl.info/2013/09/2013-program-and-handouts/. In addition to the daily sessions, attendees at the conference networked and shared ideas with fellow rural librarians from across the country that they will be able to use and share again with other Vermont librarians. The ARSL sessions showcased best practices; we learned how rural libraries contribute value to citizens through their commitment to service, community building, programming, and education resources, and by offering cutting-edge technology to their communities. The value of rural public libraries was not only talked about but demonstrated by librarians from Vermont to Hawaii.

 

In 2014 the ARSL annual conference will be held in Tacoma, Washington, from September 4-6. The Department is planning to offer grants once again to public libraries that serve a population of 10,000 or less and which met Minimum Standards for Vermont public libraries. Grant information should be announced by early summer of 2014. Questions about the ARSL conference should be addressed to any of the six attendees, who will also be participating in an ARSL conference presentation by year's end.

 

Conference Attendees:

Lisa Sammet, Jeudevine Memorial Library, Hardwick

Kimberly Mathewson, Middletown Springs Public Library

Amy Olsen, Lanpher Library, Hyde Park

Amy Wisehart, Hartland Public Library

Carol Nicholson, Goodrich Memorial Library, Newport

Rebecca Cook, Poultney Public Library

Michael Roche, Vermont Department of Libraries

 

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With the advent of online news, many newspapers have stopped preserving their backlogs, or "morgues," as they are known in the business. Because of both bottom line business concerns and the mistaken notion that online content replaces preservation, more and more newspapers are eschewing microfilm as a means to access their back files. The impact of this for the public is dramatic: recent years of many Vermont newspapers are unavailable to Vermonters. This is a change from more than a half century of access and preservation, and leaves a gap in the collective history of Vermont. VTLIB is set to remedy this problem.

 

VTLIB is stepping in to fill this void by microfilming over 300,000 pages of Vermont newspapers over the next three years. VTLIB has contracted with Northern Micrographics to conduct high quality microfilming of Vermont newspaper titles. This effort will add preservation quality reels to the robust collection of newspapers on microfilm that VTLIB makes available to the public. Recent years of titles such as Seven Days, the Manchester Journal, Addison Independent, the Newport Daily Express, and many others will be made available over the next three years. The current backlog of unfilmed newspapers goes back to 2006, depending on the title, and VTLIB plans to maintain microfilming on an ongoing basis with current titles. These newly filmed years will go with the previous years of these titles already on film at VTLIB.

 

Why microfilm these newspapers? Isn't everything on the internet now? These are commonly asked questions when discussing microfilm. There are scores, perhaps hundreds, of millions of pages of US newspapers on microfilm that are not available online. The overwhelming majority of newspapers printed in the history of the US are not digitally available. There are well known archives online such as Chronicling America, and other freely available sources for digitized newspapers, as well as pay sites such as the New York Times online archive, but these online archives contain just a drop in the bucket compared to the newspaper content that is preserved on microfilm.

 

Microfilm is a proven preservation material that will last an estimated 400-500 years. How long will today's file formats remain compatible with tomorrow's operating systems? How long will unchecked files on a disc or server remain uncorrupted? Average estimates for files stored on a single medium, with no checks or redundancy are as little as five years before they are corrupted. Microfilm will last 80 to 100 times longer. Storing files on a disc and hoping they don't get corrupted is not preservation, and it fails to provide ongoing access. Proper digitization is expensive, and is not proven to be as reliable as microfilm for preservation. Furthermore, microfilm is an ideal medium to digitize from. It is compact, easy to handle, and high resolution. It costs much less to digitize from microfilm than it does to digitize from hard copy newspapers.

 

VTLIB will begin microfilming these titles this fall, with an eye toward making new content available before the end of the year.

 

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gmbaMore Help on ADA and Building Issues

Libraries with questions about the Vermont electrical codes, plumbing codes, the ADA, and general safety have regional support available. From the website http://firesafety.vermont.gov, the Division of Fire Safety provides a number of services related to the safety of residents and guests of the State. The Division has four Regional Offices that provide the review of construction documents, permitting, inspections, safety education and training, data management, product or site investigation, and response to emergencies. The Fire Academy provides training, certification, data management, and training resources for the fire service, and support of the Fire Service Training Council.

 

The consultants at the Division of Fire Safety are also trained to provide assistance for questions around the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADA.

 

Regional Offices:

 

Williston

372 Hurricane Lane, Suite 102

Williston, VT 05495-7151

Toll Free 800.366.8325

 

Barre

1311 U.S. Route 302 - Suite 500

Barre, VT 05641-7301

Toll Free 888.870.7888

 

Rutland

56 Howe Street

Building A, Suite 200

Rutland, VT 05701

Toll Free 888.370.4834

 

Springfield

100 Mineral Street, Suite 307

Springfield, VT 05156

Toll Free 866.404.8883

 

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libsciOctober, Car Care Month: Think Chilton  

October is Car Care Month and libraries have long provided mechanics and car owners with access to information on their cars. Now libraries that subscribe to Vermont Online Library (VOL) offer patrons access to famed Chilton's car maintenance guides, from anywhere with Internet access.

 

ChiltonLibrary.com provides users with many valuable features to assist with repair, maintenance, and troubleshooting information for their vehicle. A navigation menu allows users to choose a vehicle by year, make and model to see all of the following standard, valuable features:

  • Step-by-step instructions that provide a one-stop source for answers
  • Videos and animations that show how to complete repairs
  • Close-up photos and images to enhance understanding of the text
  • Wiring diagrams to help explain system operation
  • Troubleshooting and diagnostic information that help pinpoint searches
  • Maintenance and specification tables that highlight key information

To use ChiltonLibrary.com, visit http://www.vtonlinelib.org/ to find a local library that subscribes. For questions about VOL, contact Christine Friese (802-828-2714 or [email protected]).

 

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cbec"Fizz, Boom, Read!" Materials Arriving Soon at Public Libraries 

In the summer of 2014, libraries all over the country will be celebrating science by participating in the themes "Fizz, Boom, Read" for children, "Spark a Reaction" for teens, and "Literary Elements" for adults. VTLIB will send out packets of summer materials by the end of October to all public libraries that submitted 2013 Summer Reading Program statistics and evaluations. Also in the packet will be an Upstart catalog featuring dozens of items to purchase, a VTLIB order form with the materials that the state provides FREE for public libraries, and the annual listing of programs created by Vermont performers to address the theme. Libraries that apply for a summer program may receive a $100 grant to offset the cost.

 

With the emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) materials and programs nationwide, plus the great interest in the Maker movement, this is a perfect time for libraries to concentrate on science.

 

Vermont is a member of the Collaborative Summer Library Program, and every public library in the state is eligible for membership. VTLIB pays each public library's membership fee, and purchases one program manual package per library. Schools are not eligible to receive program manuals, but are encouraged to partner with their public libraries. There is a now an abbreviated catalog of materials that schools can order directly without going through the public library. Interested schools may request a catalog from April Kelley ([email protected] or 802-828-2721).

 

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vprVPR Features DCF Award
On October 7, Vermont Public Radio aired the first of a monthly series celebrating the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award program, Vermont's children's choice award for grades 4-8 sponsored by the Vermont Department of Libraries. The program is called Dorothy's List: A Monthly Series for Young Readers and is aired during Vermont Edition (noon - 1 pm; re-broadcast at 7 pm). The first program featured Vermonter S.S. Taylor and her book The Expeditioners. Amy Kolb Noyes, the producer, interviewed both the author and students at U-32 Middle School in East Montpelier. The students had questions for S.S. Taylor which she then answered during her interview.

 

The next up is Steve Sheinkin and his suspenseful book Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, with students at Camel's Hump Middle School in Richmond.

 

Check here for more information about the radio programs: http://digital.vpr.net/post/dorothys-list-monthly-series-young-readers. For more about the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award: http://libraries.vermont.gov/libraries/cbec/dcf.

 

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sanbornSanborn Fire Insurance Maps Available Through State Library 

London has stood firm through plagues, revolutions and counter-revolutions, but until the change away from wood as the primary building material, this ancient city was also susceptible to conflagrations against which Londoners had no defense. Fires destroyed entire sections of London, two even earning the descriptor "great" -- the Great Fire of 1135 and the Great Fire of 1212. Other significant fires occurred in 1220, 1227, 1299 and 1633. Some of the buildings lost in the fire of 1633 were never replaced and provided an unintentional firebreak for the Great Fire of London which occurred over three days in 1666.

 

Surveying the desolation must have been staggering, but identifying what was lost was nearly impossible. Government buildings, commercial establishments, private homes and all the supporting structures were simply gone. Insurance companies and underwriters felt an acute need for accurate, current and detailed information about their liabilities, and as a result, insurance maps and plans began to be produced toward the end of the 18th century.

 

The practice of insurance mapping was continued, mostly by British underwriters, in the colonies until the War of 1812, when deteriorating relations with England gave rise to home-grown insurance mapping in the United States.

 

In 1835, a major fire in New York City wiped out most of the nation's smaller insurance companies -- most of which could not cover their losses -- and the reorganization of the insurance industry was accompanied by state laws and regulations requiring adequate reserves for such catastrophes. The insurance companies were fewer and larger, and individual inspection of insured properties became impractical, adding to the demand for insurance maps.

 

D.A. Sanborn, a surveyor from Somerville, Massachusetts, compiled an insurance atlas of the city of Boston, and this might have brought him to the attention of the Aetna Insurance Company, which hired him in 1866 to map several cities in Tennessee. Out of this grew the D.A. Sanborn National Insurance Diagram Bureau in 1867. In 1872 Daniel Carter Beard, one of the founders of the Boy Scouts, was hired by the (by then) Sanborn Map and Publishing Company, where he prepared maps of the homes in each town and city, putting into his records "mention of real occupancy, genteel or disreputable."

 

Sanborn began registering his maps with the Library of Congress in 1883, but he had already produced a map of Rutland in 1879, one of his earliest. Within the next few years, he had produced maps for cities in every state. Sanborn and company survived the financial crisis of 1929 and the Depression, but World War II saw restrictions placed on the production of maps and Sanborn began producing maps on contract for the military.

 

The market for Sanborn maps never recovered after the War, and the last catalog was issued by the company in 1950. Sanborn continued to produce updates for the maps, now covering some 150 cities, including the major cities in Vermont. Today, municipalities are the major clients for the maps, followed by engineering and architectural firms.

 

For historians, however, the maps and atlases constitute an invaluable historical record of urban growth in the United States covering more than a century. Urban specialists, architects, genealogists, local historians, planners and environmentalists are frequent users as well. Today there are over 6000 sheets online for the United States, but also for parts of Canada and Mexico, Cuban sugar warehouses and U.S. whiskey warehouses.

 

Although there are no sugar or whiskey warehouses in Vermont (as far as can be determined), maps are available for 64 Vermont towns and cities. ProQuest's Digital Sanborn Maps list the coverage here: http://www.proquest.com/assets/downloads/products/SanbornMaps-Vermont.pdf 

 

The Vermont maps are also available on microfilm at the Vermont State Library and available on interlibrary loan. Patrons at the State Library can also access the online version.

 

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imls