Spatial Humanities: Perspectives from the Library

As map and geospatial library professionals, it is likely that we have all engaged with spatial humanities in one way or another at some point in our careers. Spatial humanities as a field has grown and become increasingly visible since the “spatial turn” in humanities and the broader embrace of geospatial tools and technologies that has happened over the past two decades (e.g., Bodenhamer, Corrigan, and Harris 2010, 2015; Gieseking 2018; Gregory and Geddes 2014; Knowles and Hillier 2008). As the proliferation of web-based “GIS-lite” applications has lowered barriers for scholars of all disciplines to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and digital mapping tools, spatial humanities approaches continue to be relevant for a wide variety of researchers who interact with library collections and experts.

Whether the collections we manage or describe are being used in a research project or we are providing support for digital tools and methods, spatial humanities is an integral component of the map and geospatial library portfolio. Indeed, library professionals have demonstrated expertise in spatial humanities research as enablers, partners, collaborators, and scholars. This special double issue examines the myriad ways our work engages with spatial humanities scholarship. Issue 1 centers on specific tools and methods for spatial humanities, while Issue 2 takes a look at projects using library collections in spatial humanities research.

The special issue kicks off with Melinda Kernik’s timely article on the preservation implications of Esri StoryMaps for digital humanities. It is nearly impossible to talk about spatial humanities in 2024 without mentioning StoryMaps, and Kernik’s paper raises important questions about the preservation, migration, and planned obsolescence of digital humanities research using the “classic” version of this popular platform.

Next, Urquidi Diaz, Kırca, Schuldt, and Chignell discuss a highly collaborative interdisciplinary research project identifying toponyms from travel narratives about the Belgrade Forest in European Istanbul. Their article discusses methods for identifying toponyms from primary sources at the point of “science friction” and offers valuable insights about the challenges and opportunities of working on an interdisciplinary team.

Justin and Menon’s article proposes the use of spatial hypertexts in spatial humanities and geospatial archival projects. Spatial hypertexts use linked maps to connect articles, images, and other archival materials together and to ground them in space. Their paper includes a prototype of a geospatial archive on Dalit massacres in post-independence India that makes impactful use of spatial hypertexts.

The second half of this double issue shifts focus to library collections. Abigail Norris-Davidson describes a spatial humanities project that draws upon an African American-owned funeral home’s ledgers to analyze place-building in Memphis, Tennessee. The article describes the research possibilities of funeral home ledgers as primary source documents and makes the case by mapping locations mentioned in the ledgers to recreate a view of African American life in early 20th century Memphis.

Clemons and Norris-Davidson continue this theme with their project mapping correspondence related to integration at the University of Mississippi. Their article combines sentiment analysis and geographic mapping of letters sent to James Meredith, the first African American student to attend the University of Mississippi. These letters and the corresponding maps provide insight into the attitudes of Americans on segregation at the time.

Jack Swab rounds out this special issue by elucidating typologies and correction processes for one of the most popular map collections for historical research in the United States: Sanborn fire insurance maps. Swab cautions that the increasing availability and use of digital scans of Sanborn maps distances the user from material nuances of the print maps that provide important context, and they urge scholars to critically examine the collections they engage with for spatial humanities research. Swab’s history of the Sanborn Map Company and description of the typologies is essential reading for anyone working with this collection.

The authors represented in this special issue are library professionals, graduate students, and academics from five different countries. Their research presents innovative ways to stitch together the traditional work and collections of map and geospatial library professionals with cross-disciplinary conversations in digital humanities research. These articles and expanding “collections as data” efforts in libraries (e.g., Padilla et al. 2019; Padilla, Scates Kettler, and Shorish 2023) show that the future is bright for library contributions to spatial humanities and digital scholarship more broadly. One of our goals as new coeditors of the Journal of Map & Geography Libraries is to increase the reach of the journal, both in scope and in geographic representation of authors. This first special issue of our tenure is certainly a move in that direction.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).