Go to project

Next-generation georeferencing

Allmaps is a next-generation software ecosystem that makes it easier and more fun to create, curate, and share goereferenced maps. Using the International Image Operability Framework (IIIF), Allmaps can warp and display scanned maps entirely in a web browser, without the need to download desktop GIS software like ArcGIS or QGIS.

In collaboration with the Allmaps development team and the American Geographical Society Library at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the Leventhal Center leads an ongoing project focused on helping other map-holding institutions improve accessibility to their digital collections. Our focus areas include:

• Internal feature development within the Allmaps software ecosystem, including building new tools that will allow Allmaps users to manage crowdsourced georeferencing workflows at scale.
• External feature development beyond the Allmaps software ecosystem, including the creation of plugins for major content management systems like GeoBlacklight and CONTENTdm that will allow collections managers to easily include Allmaps in their digital discovery portals.
• Social infrastructure development that will support the maintenance and further development of Allmaps—and other tools like it that land at the intersection of geography and digital humanities—in perpetuity.

This work is supported by a Digital Humanities Advancement Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (Award HAA-293491-23). Please reach out to Ian Spangler if you want to learn more about Allmaps or get involved in the project!

Allmaps applications

Go to application	Description
	Allmaps Editor. Georeference any IIIF-compliant map, entirely in a web browser. Open Allmaps Editor directly from any object in LMEC collections. You can also load a map via its IIIF manifest from any IIIF-compliant digital map collection.
	Allmaps Viewer. View any map that was georeferenced using Allmaps overlaid on a modern web map. Load the map by pasting its IIIF manifest or georeference annotation. Toggle transparency and even remove certain colors from the overlay map to compare how places have changed over time.
	Allmaps Latest. View a live feed of the latest maps georeferenced using Allmaps. Improve maps that need better masks or more control points. See which collections are georeferencing the most maps.