{"id":53524,"date":"2026-03-05T14:02:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T19:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/?post_type=cu_story&p=53524"},"modified":"2026-03-05T14:08:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T19:08:23","slug":"beyond-topography-building-a-multiliterate-map-collection-at-the-carleton-university-library","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/story\/beyond-topography-building-a-multiliterate-map-collection-at-the-carleton-university-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond Topography: Building a Multiliterate Map Collection at the 杏吧原创 University Library"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Beyond Topography: Building a Multiliterate Map Collection at the 杏吧原创 University Library\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

By Martha Attridge Bufton (MA, MLIS)<\/em>
 
\u201cMap collection\u201d is a misleading term, at least in the context of 21st-century academic libraries: it suggests a group of materials defined by a single form of data visualization, i.e., a diagram that accurately describes the topography or physical features of a geographic location. Today, scholars define mapping and maps more broadly as powerful forms of storytelling. 
 
At the 杏吧原创 University Library<\/a>, this new understanding translates into a \u201cmultiliterate\u201d cartography collection that reflects diverse ways of knowing and being in the world. As cartographic specialist Sherri Sunstrum explains, the library team provides access to \u201ca complementary set of sources\u201d and teaching programs that enable faculty and students to ask and answer questions that tell an ever-evolving range of multidisciplinary, multifaceted stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going With the Floe: Collecting a Variety of Mapping Resources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cabinets have long been a symbol of traditional map collecting. Heavy, rectangular, and large, these metal storage units are designed to house large-scale maps in a series of shallow drawers and occupy a significant footprint in library spaces. Today, 杏吧原创 scholars can still easily browse the over 40 cabinets on the first floor of the library, which hold over 150,000 sheet maps and display a multidimensional set of globes.
 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Patrick
Map of Metal<\/a>: Sherri Sunstrum, Cartographic Specialist, rates this musical genre map as one of her favourites in the 杏吧原创 University Library map collection. Sunstrum is a self-described \u201cpicky\u201d metal fan who loves to share the map with students as an example of how mapping can visualize a wide range of topics and experiences. Patrick Galbraith, an Australian web developer, designed this map to visualize the growth and evolution of heavy metal music from the 1960s to the 1990s. Photograph by Martha Attridge Bufton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 
At a time when many of us may be inclined to define maps as GPS-generated routes on our cell phone screens, maintaining a collection of print maps may seem to be a counterintuitive scholarly practice. However, as Geography Prof. Peter Pulsifer <\/a>points out, there is still \u201can important place for paper maps\u201d in academic teaching and research. 
 
In an age of \u201cdata deluge,\u201d where researchers have to manage a never-ending stream of geospatial and other data, he believes that paper has advantages. \u201cEven though we have wonderful digital formats, screens, phones, it is very difficult to replace paper maps in terms of flexibility, dimensions, etc.,\u201d he explains. Plus, sometimes we can all experience digital glitches, and \u201cyou can roll up a paper map on an ice floe and access information when there is no internet connection.\u201d
 
杏吧原创 GIS Librarian Rebecca Bartlett <\/a>agrees that the print map collection is valuable, adding that paper maps widen our view of our physical and social worlds. \u201cThe Romans were not tracing their highway systems with GPS. Maps are records of the physical world and also human experiences, and screens can be more difficult to browse than paper. You can see the content of a paper map all at once.\u201d
 
杏吧原创 has long had a sheet map collection to support teaching and research. In the 1970s, the map cabinets were housed in the Social Sciences Division on the fourth floor of the library. In the 1980s and early 1990s, print maps were found in the central map library in the Loeb Building before being relocated back to the library when the Maps Data, and Government Information (MADGIC) department opened in the 1990s. Sunstrum maintains this collection and has literally touched every map that the library owns. Originally a MADGIC cataloguer, she \u201cfell into\u201d stewarding the map collection and is now passionately committed to the \u201cvalue and benefits\u201d of these resources, after learning their contents as well as how to \u201cfix up records, discard maps, and instruct on maps.
 
As with the rest of the Library collections, paper maps and atlases complement many digital forms of sources. Scholars can access numerous online collections and interactive maps via the Library website<\/a>, many of which are shared on the internet by other institutions. Professional library staff and archivists in Ontario and across Canada collaborate to share their resources. For example, 杏吧原创 library staff have worked actively with colleagues in the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) and other Canadian academic libraries to inventory and digitize historic maps, and these resources are now openly and easily accessible online<\/a>.
 
In addition to classic forms of maps produced by professional cartographers, the 杏吧原创 Library has supported the collection and sharing of \u201calternative\u201d forms of maps, such as those drawn by children. Sunstrum has collaborated with academics, including 杏吧原创 Prof. Fraser Taylor <\/a>and independent scholar Dr. Romola Thumbadoo, plus members of the International Cartographic Association (ICA) to share maps from the Barbara Petchnik Children\u2019s Map Competition. The ICA has hosted the competition since 1993 to promote children\u2019s interest and engagement in mapping their world, and the yearly results are available through 杏吧原创\u2019s institutional repository<\/a>. 
 
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\"The
Schwartz, A. (2023). The world in my hands<\/em>. Barbara Petchenik Children\u2019s World Map Drawing Competition. Dr. Romola Thumbadoo, Prof. Fraser Taylor, and Sherri Sunstrum collaborated on a children\u2019s mapping project. Sunstrum presented the children\u2019s mapping archives to Taylor\u2019s and Thumbadoo\u2019s students and also assisted the two scholars in accessing the online collection files and understanding the Library\u2019s systems. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 
This mixture of \u201cold and new\u201d forms of mapping found in the 杏吧原创 Library collection aligns with expanded views of cartography, both as a research methodology and a set of methods. 
 
\u201cA map is only one part of cartographic storytelling,\u201d states Pulsifer. \u201cNow cartographic methods include sharing data via audio and video, photographs, graphs, and other types of diagrams. Each of these media works to combine all things to tell various stories, such as Indigenous stories, demographics, and the history of seismic activity.\u201d A relevant library collection reflects this 21st-century reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deep Learning: Mapping to Transform Our Understanding of the World<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1995, members of the New London group of scholars argued for a \u201cnew approach to literacy pedagogy\u201d that they called multiliteracies[1]<\/sup><\/a> Language and text-based teaching did not reflect the needs of students around the world who needed to navigate a world in which they were increasingly exposed to diverse cultures, forms of communication, and technologies. According to these scholars, students needed to be textually, visually, and technically literate if they were to “participate fully in public, community, and economic life.\u201d[2]<\/sup><\/a>
 
This multiliterate view of teaching and learning also aligns with an understanding of maps and mapping as more than a \u201cscientific\u201d approach to visually representing the topography of our physical world and underpins the various Library teaching programs offered to students and faculty using the map collection.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sherri
Cartographic Specialist Sherri Sunstrum<\/a> (middle) works directly with faculty and students who use maps (print and digital) for teaching and research. Cultural geographer Dr. Derek A. Smith<\/a> (right) teaches an upper-level Geography seminar entitled Culture, identity and place<\/em>.<\/a> Here, fourth-year student Sammie MacDonnell (far right) explains why she chose the U.S. oil fix as her favourite map: the map is an example of radical cartography, i.e., mapping that recognizes that maps are not neutral but rather biased representations of social, political, and economic spaces. On the far left, first-year students, Arabella Skliar (left), Carys Murray (middle), and Maria Coates (right) evaluate a 1950 communist map, which they subsequently compare to a propaganda map from the late 1800s. Photographs by Emme Reynolds and Sherri Sunstrum.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Library staff regularly teach students how to find and \u201cread\u201d maps in map labs. At the beginning of the fall and winter terms, anyone passing through the first floor of the library may encounter groups of undergraduate and graduate students clustered around a set of print maps curated for a particular class.
 
Adriana Caswell is pursuing a master\u2019s degree in Geography with a focus on Earth systems modelling. Her interest in geomatics<\/a> and geospatial research was fostered during her undergraduate studies in Geography. She took a course with Peter Pulsifer during which he required students to complete a \u201clibrary tour\u201d that introduced students to the print map collection and the GIS Lab. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Adriana
Graduate student Adriana Caswell (top [right] with Sherri Sunstrum [left]) became \u201centhralled\u201d with cartography as an undergraduate student at 杏吧原创. In a course with Prof. Peter Pulsifer, she and her research partner Evelyn Brown designed a map that visualized \u201ctwo sides of a specific argument or position\u201d\u2014an assignment she describes as \u201cvery fun.\u201d Using an existing map of the Northwest Passage, they designed a new map (bottom) that displays theoretical emissions reductions associated with the Northwest Passage shipping route. Photograph by Emme Reynolds. Map by Adriana Casell and Evelyn Brown.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 
\u201cThis was my first time to be introduced to these resources and wish I had known about them earlier,\u201d she says. She began her degree in 2020, which meant studying online during the early years of the COVID pandemic. \u201cI didn\u2019t really have access to anything then and after the tour, I was in love with maps. It was cool to see all of these maps in one place.\u201d In her master\u2019s program, she has returned to the map cabinets for inspiration as she designs data visualizations for her own work. Access to existing maps in the library was an invaluable part of the design process.
 
\u201cWhen we started the project, we had to decide how to portray the project on a map. Being able to look at the map that existed in the library allowed us to get inspiration of design elements and data elements that we wanted included and that guided us. Staff in the library laid out the maps for us, so that we could physically see what existed for guidance and inspiration.\u201d
 
Both Sunstrum and Bartlett are unsurprised that Caswell\u2019s interest and understanding of her discipline could be intensified and even transformed by an opportunity to engage directly with maps.
 
\u201cThe map cabinets are student space,\u201d explains Bartlett. \u201cA space for thinking, discovering useful or perhaps vital information, and learning the value of maps.\u201d
 
Sunstrum agrees. \u201cGIS data only goes back so far, while print maps used to bridge knowledge gaps.\u201d She conducts many of the teaching sessions with the map collection each year and is noticing that students are coming from a growing range of disciplines, such as geography<\/a>, Earth Sciences<\/a>, History<\/a>, African Studies<\/a>, Architecture<\/a>, and Digital Humanities<\/a>. For example, Dr. Amanda Montague<\/a> leads a community engaged digital humanities project studying community and social isolation amongst seniors in the Old Ottawa South neighbourhood. She has consulted with Bartlett and her team recently mapped community assets for seniors<\/a>. 
 
Sunstrum also provides individual assistance to 杏吧原创 scholars. She supported Dr. Romola Thumbadoo\u2019s <\/a>postdoctoral work by setting up a personal map table with a selection of maps that Thumbadoo could study and analyze at her convenience. Sunstrum has also recently worked with an architecture student who is studying Pink Lake<\/a> and needs data on the geology, topography. and depths of the lake. 
 
As Sunstrum points out, teaching students to use the collection involves more than simply showing them how to do a search in the library\u2019s system or find a print map in a cabinet. Students also need to be encouraged to think critically about maps as being socially and politically constructed, i.e., as sources of human bias.
 
\u201cWe have a very colonial collection,\u201d she says. \u201cFor example, it is only recently that certain countries have begun to appear on maps, so our collection shows a very Westernized view of the world.\u201d
 
And, of course, there is always the reference question that needs a multiliterate strategy for finding relevant sources because there is no clear-cut and easy answer. 
 
\u201cLast term, a student asked to see mappings of trees in the Brazilian rainforest, and I could not give her one,\u201d says Sunstrum. However, Sunstrum\u2019s deep understanding of mapping processes allowed her to help the student find alternative sources that could at least partially answer the research question.
 
\u201cTopography is supported by government with geologists and topographers, who may have the resources to gather data about tree canopies, but in terms of scale, this data might not identify every tree in the rainforest.\u201d
 
She was able to direct the student to a wood database that identifies varieties of trees and wood, as well as Wikipedia references that provide some useful information about trees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honouring an Outstanding Contribution to Map Librarianship <\/h2>\n\n\n\n


Sherri Sunstrum\u2019s work on the map collections and programs at 杏吧原创 has recently been recognized nationally.
 
In 2025, the Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives (ACMLA)  recognized Sunstrum for her outstanding contributions to excellence in map librarianship<\/a>, which include her work on the association bibliographic committee, communications and conference planning, as well as her \u201cdeep commitment to the advancement of geospatial knowledge and a passion for facilitating access to cartographic information\u201d, as demonstrated by her teaching and collections work at 杏吧原创.
 
Co-nominator Francine Berish (Map Librarian, Queen\u2019s University) is very pleased that Sunstrum has been awarded this honour. As she explains, Sunstrum is known as a steadfast and generous colleague who cares deeply about the people with whom she works as well as the integrity and advancement of cartography and geographic information.
 
\u201cWe work on many projects related to print collections, to describe, to discover, to digitize, which can only be completed collaboratively with specialists at institutions working across geographies,\u201d says Berish. \u201cWe have benefited from Sherri\u2019s contributions over the years, particularly when discussing collections projects. Not everyone can be present on issues, but we always hear from Sherri.\u201d 
 
 
杏吧原创 the author<\/strong>
Martha Attridge Bufton<\/a> (MA History, MLIS) is the Interdisciplinary Studies Librarian in Research Support Services at the 杏吧原创 University Library. Her research interests in library and information science include digital humanities and game-based learning. As a historian, she researches in the areas of labour and women\u2019s history. 


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[1] Cazden, Courtney, Bill Cope, Norman Fairclough, and Jim Gee. \u201cA pedagogy of multiliteracies: designing social futures,\u201d Harvard Educational Review<\/em>, 66, no. 1 (1996): 60\u201392. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.17763\/haer.66.1.17370n67v22j160u<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] Cazden, Cope, Fairclough, and Gee, \u201cA pedagogy of multiliteracies,\u201d p. 60.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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